Leviathan MC
by UnAshamedFangirl
Summary: Ariel has a rocky past, but the MC is helping her move on. Especially a green eyed Sgt. At Arms, who she is determined to stay away from. AU, with a couple OCs
1. Chapter 1

He heard the rumble of the bike before he saw it. Sam, Vice President of the Leviathan MC, who was outside smoking, was surprised to hear a bike at all considering there wasn't supposed to be anyone coming. Everyone, including the new patch that they were holding the party for, was inside. He saw the bike pull in, and casually rested his hand on his hip next to his gun, just to be safe. He didn't think that anyone who was gonna cause trouble would be riding single, but you never know. It wasn't until the guy parked, and got off his bike that Sam recognized him. "Dean?" He asked incredulously. "Hey Sammy." Sam rolled his eyes, and refrained from saying anything to him. He just pulled him in for a hug. They walked into the clubhouse, and once everyone recognized him, they all started yelling, and cheering. The next thing Dean was aware of, he was covered in bikers who all wanted to say hello to him.

Across the room, the new patch, Ariel aka Sparky, was watching the reunion, and was able to figure out his name from all the yelling. Dean was pretty cute, if she let herself think about it. She tried not too, but then Sam was beckoning her over. "Sparky, come say hello to my brother!" As she got up, she noticed all the sweet-butts were now switching between glaring at her, which hadn't really stopped since she first showed up, and staring at Dean. She could tell that some of the girls were going to try and bag him. She finally made it to the group, and smiled at Sam when He introduced them. She turned her eyes to Dean's to say hello, and fell into his eyes. There were an absolutely breathtaking shade of green, and at the moment, they were sparkling with mischief. Ariel wasn't wearing her new cut yet, it was still being made up for her, so Dean didn't know who she was yet. "Introducing me to a sweetbutt Sammy? Gotta say, she is a choice piece." Everyone's eyes flew to Ariel, who normally didn't take shit from anyone. She just held his gaze for a little while longer, and then turned on her heel. Before she took a step though, she whipped back around and smacked Dean across the face, relishing his look of surprise that she briefly saw before she stalked towards her dorm.

Back in the group of bikers, Dean was pissed, and it wasn't helped by the fact that his "Brothers" and actual brother, were laughing at him. "What the fuck, man?! Who the fuck is that chick?" Sam forced himself to stop laughing long enough to explain. "That, is Sparky. The new patch. She finished her hazing yesterday, and this party is in her honor." Dean's eyes widened. "Patch? Since when do we patch in females?" Sam shook his head. "Dean, you've been gone for a while now, and some things have changed. We made her a prospect when she was adamant about the fact that she could take whatever we threw at her. We didn't think she would make it, but she did everything we asked, and didn't bitch. Out of three prospects, she was the only one who we patched. The girl is made of iron, man."Sam stopped talking and watched his brother's face as he stared towards the hallway where Ariel had disappeared after bruising his face. Sam saw that Dean was deep in thought, so he turned and walked away to talk to Jax. "Hey, do we still have Dean's patch?" Jax nodded. "Should be in the back, with baby girl's." Sam chuckled. "Don't let her hear you call her that, she might take offense." Jax smirked. "She likes me, I just have to work the right angle to bag her." Sam shook his head at Jax again, and walked away from him. Ariel came walking back out into the party, and headed over to the bar. "Hey Sparky." Ariel turned and looked at Sam. "Hey Sam. Hows it hanging?" He smirked and came back with "Slightly to the left." She chuckled. "So everybody seems pretty excited about Dean being home. How long was he gone?" "Well, he was setting up a new charter in LA, and that takes a while. He was gone for a year and a half. He actually left like three days before you showed up demanding to be given a chance to patch." Ariel smiled, remembering that day like it was yesterday. "Sparky, whats up?" Sam smirked as Ariel rolled her eyes at Jax's voice. "Manwhore. How are you?" Normally if someone said something like that to him, he would throw a punch, but Jax always let her talk to him like that.

"So, when are you gonna give me a shot? I know you want to." Ariel finally spun to look at him. "Jax, if I wanted to sleep with you, I would sleep with you. I can pretty much garuntee that nothing will happen with us. I see you as brother." Sam actually laughed at the look on his face when she said that to him. "You look like someone stole your puppy!" Jax threw a bottlecap at him, and laughed as well. "Fine, I'll stop trying to get you to sleep with me. But the innuendos and stuff won't stop." Ariel just shook her head. "I didn't expect them too, and I wouldn't want it any other way." Dean came walking up to the bar, and ordered a beer. "Hey Dean. How have you been, man?" Dean looked at Jax. "Pretty good. I'm glad to be home, that's for sure." Dean looked at Ariel, who hadn't even turned to acknowledge him at all. He knew he had fucked up with her, and he would need to figure out a way to fix it. Ariel turned her back on Dean and Jax, and struck up a conversation with Sam. Dean got distracted by the rest of the bikers walking up to talk to him. Chibs, Half-sack, Tig, Bobby, and Rufus walked up and started talking to him about everything he had missed. Ash was behind the bar with Cherry, and Happy and Juice were sitting at the other end of the bar. Ariel and Sam got drawn into the loud conversation, and everyone watched the interaction between Ariel and Juice, who were getting ready to play some pool. Everyone always enjoyed watching Ariel play the boys at pool because she hadn't been beaten yet.

"I got ten bucks on Juice!" Halfsack called out, laughing when Sam scoffed. "Not even! Ariel could take him in her sleep!" Juice threw a rag at Sam. "Thanks for the support, man!" Causing everyone to laugh. Ten minutes later saw Juice groaning as Ariel neatly sunk the 8 ball. "You are no fun to play against!" He whined playfully, causing Ariel to laugh. "You just suck at pool!" Jax stepped up. "Wanna play a game of teams?" Ariel narrowed her eyes at him. "Who's playing?" Jax looked around, and Dean was smirking, and nodded when they made eye contact. "Me and Dean against you and the partner of your choice." Ariel smirked right back at him, hiding the fact that she did not want to play pool with Dean. "Deal. But I have to make a call." Everyone got confused at that, and Sam spoke up. "Who are you calling?" She just shrugged. "A friend from school." Everyone was shocked at that. Ariel never brought her school friends around the club. Actually, most of them were pretty sure no one she had gone to college with even knew she was in a biker club. Ariel pulled out her phone, and made a call, and not even 15 minutes later, the boys heard a bike pulling up. Ariel jumped up nd ran outside, followed by the rest of the club. They all watched as a woman pulled up on a baby blue Ninja, and swiftly turned off the bike. Ariel waited until she was off the bike, and hugged her tight.

Sam watched the woman, silently assessing her. She was as tall as Ariel, built pretty much the same, and as far as he could tell, drop dead gorgeous. Once she was done hugging Ariel, she took off her helmet, and his eyes widened. Bright blonde hair that went halfway down the woman's back came tumbling out. Sam heard Jax whistle. "Damn. Leave it to Sparky to have a sexy ass friend stashed away somewhere." He shook his head. That man would never change. Over by the bike, Brianna was talking to Ariel. "I was actually gonna call you. I haven't seen you since school—Are you wearing a cut?!" Ariel smiled. "I told you I was patching into a club." "Yeah, I just don't think I believed you." Ariel's jaw dropped, causing Bri to laugh. "Gee, thanks." Brianna slung her arm around Ariel's shoulder, and they started walking back towards the guys, and Brianna stopped in her tracks, noticing all the guys standing there. She whistled lowly. "Eye candy much?" Ariel burst out laughing, glad to have her best friend with her again. "I hope you packed for a while, cause you're staying with me, and I AM going to convince you to move in with me." Brianna chuckled. "Moving truck should be here tomorrow." They had started walking again, but at that statement, she stopped. "For real?" Brianna nodded, and Ariel clapped and hugged her. Again.

Finally, they made it over to the guys, and Ariel pulled Bri close. "Ok, here it is. Guys, this is Brianna. My absolute best friend from school. She is actually moving in with me, so she'll be around a lot." Bri smiled at everyone, and tried to force her eyes away from the hazel eyes of the tall guy who was standing closest to the door. "Brianna, this is Sam, Jax, Juice, Chibs, Halfsack, Clay, Tig, Opie, Happy, Castiel, Ash, and Rufus." Ariel pointed at each man in turn, skipping over Dean intentionally, as she didn't want him to make a comment like he did when she met him. "I'm Dean, by the way. Ariel here doesn't like me much." Brianna saw the man step forward, and had to hold back a chuckle. Ariel didn't like him? She didn't buy that for a second. He was exactly her type. She slanted a look at her best friend, who was glaring a hole into Dean's forehead.

Ariel spoke up after that, purposely glossing over Dean's statement. "Jax, ready to get your ass kicked at pool?" He scoffed. "In your dreams, baby." 


	2. Chapter 2

Ariel and Brianna walked up to the pool table after they got their drinks, and they were quietly talking among themselves, waiting for the boys to be ready to play a round. "Spill, what is going on with you and Dean?" Ariel scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Nothing. He was derogatory towards me almost immediately once he met me, and I don't have to deal with it. I wear a patch, same as his. It's not like he is president of the charter or anything. I just hate guys like that." Brianna smirked, and Ariel playfully punched her arm. "Don't start with that. I know that look." "I just know you too well for you to try and bullshit me. You can run that story by everyone else here, and probably pull it off well, but not me sweetie. You want that man." Ariel stared at her for a minute, and she went to say something, but before she could, Jax and Dean walked up, which of course, made the rest of the boys gather around them. Brianna leaned in towards Ariel. "This isn't over. We are talking about this." Ariel just waved her hand at her. The settled in to start the game, and then the bets started flying.

"20 bucks on Ariel and Brianna!" Juice's voice rang out first. "No way! Jax and Dean will slaughter them!" Tig made his presence known. "I'll take that bet, Juice!" Chibs yelled out next. "I'm on the girls' side!" Sam spoke up. The foursome standing around the table were laughing at the antics of the crowd, but were waiting for the bets to stop before starting. Once the commotion died down, the room was divided about halfway. Half of the group were for the girls, and the other half with the boys. Ariel looked at Jax. "Get ready to lose, Teller." He shook his head. "In your dreams, short stack." Ariel's eyes narrowed at the nickname that she hated. "Bri looked at Dean, who was standing there looking smug. "Wipe that look off your face. You haven't won yet, and it ain't over till it's over, Winchester." Dean's eyes finally flicked away from Ariel to connect with Brianna's blue eyes. "Very true. But you two don't stand a chance in hell." She just smiled at him, before leaning over and breaking the balls that Jax had racked up. She sank two solids in one shot. "Females are solids, boys." She spoke up. She sank another two balls before she missed, and Jax stepped up to take his turn, sinking three before missing. From then on, the shit talking was on. Both from the group playing, and the people standing around watching. Sam smiled when he noticed Dean get distracted when Ariel took off her cut.

Dean missed his shot when he looked up and saw both Ariel and Brianna taking off their top layers. Ariel was wearing a mini-dress, and Brianna had on jeans and a tube top, and standing next to each other, they made quite the picture. Brianna noticed his mess up and laughed. "Eye on the prize, Winchester. Mess-ups like that will cause you to lose." Dean shot her a playful look. "Whatever you say, Blondie." Brianna rolled her eyes at him, pushing him out of the way of her shot. Ariel felt a shot of emotion go through her watching her best friend flirt with Dean. She refused to think she was jealous. She didn't even _like _Dean. Why would she be jealous if Bri wanted to go after him? She shook her head, and watched as Jax missed on the 8 ball. It was her shot, and the 8 ball was the only ball left on the table. She walked up, called the pocket, and neatly sunk it. Brianna spun and looked at Dean. "You were saying?" Everyone laughed as bets were settled, and Ariel and Brianna walked over to the bar to have a celebratory drink. "Well, that went well." Ariel nodded, having a mouthful of alcohol. Sam walked up to the bar. "Congrats ladies! It's always a pleasure watching the two cockiest men in the room get beat by women." Ariel laughed, and Sam sat next to her, and drew her into a conversation. Brianna was actually ok with not being in the conversation, at least for now. She was really intrigued watching her interact with the people around her. She was so drawn in around school that seeing her open up and joke around with people was a new concept. She watched as Sam said something to her, and Ariel threw a piece of ice at him. She was definitely in her element with this crowd, which made sense; she had been around them for a couple of years now.

Across the bar, Jax was watching the interaction between the VP and their new patch. He was glad to see her so relaxed. Since Dean had said whatever it was he said to her when they were introduced, she had been tense. He knew that if anyone could relax that girl, it would be Sam. Ariel and Sam had become real close real quick. There was even speculation of them sleeping together, but anyone who knew the two of them, knew that would never happen. Sam had been Ariel's sponsor to patch in, and she looked up to him in every possible way. Sam had liked her at first, but he moved past that when she didn't show the same kind of interest. Now they were like siblings. As he watched, Brianna leaned over to say something to Ariel, and Sam effortlessly drew her in. Jax watched the way Ariel leaned into Brianna, and knew instinctively that she made her feel safe. Ariel had a rough past, and to be so completely comfortable with someone was a rarity for her. Brianna was just as comfortable with Ariel, and in turn, Sam. Suddenly, Ariel stiffened, and Jax scanned the crowd around her to see why. _Dean. _He had really insulted her with his comment. He watched with a smile as Bri struck up a conversation with him, and left Ariel to talk to Sam.

Ariel leaned more towards Sam when she heard Bri strike up a conversation with Dean. "Why don't you forgive him? All the guys made that comment when you became a prospect." She shook her head. "Prospect. Exactly. Once I was patched, they gave me the respect I deserved for wearing the cut. Dean made that comment about a patched member. The fact that he was such a dick is bullshit. If I were still a prospect, I wouldn't care. But as a patched member, I deserve the respect of the rest of the club." Sam tried to hold in a laugh. She had the hots for his brother, and was trying very hard to fight them. He knew that Dean liked her as well, because even though he was flirting with her best friend, his eyes kept flicking to her. Brianna, who was talking to Dean, noticed the same thing. "Why don't you talk to her? I can see you want to." Dean pulled his eyes away from the redhead and his brother. "I don't know what you mean." Brianna just scoffed and rolled her eyes. "How about the fact that even though we've been talking for about ten minutes, you have spent half of that time staring at my best friend's ass?" Dean laughed, appreciating her bluntness about him ignoring her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you." She just waved her hand at him. "Whatever, I am awesome, and I don't need your attention to prove it." She struck a dramatic pose, making him laugh yet again. She laughed with him, and then she leaned in a bit. "Seriously. Why won't you talk to her? She is upset that you disrespected her. If you apologize, maybe she'll stop ignoring your existence." Dean looked into her bright blue eyes, and saw genuine friendship shining in them. "Why do you want to help me so badly?" She rolled her eyes, and said "I don't know, truly. If you were stupid enough to insult her, I should let you deal with it on your own. But I want to help. You seem like you will just sit on your ass if someone doesn't give you a kick in the ass, so here it is." With that, she spun and looked at Sam.

"Hey Sam?" Sam's head snapped up at the sound of her voice saying his name. "Yeah?" "Give me a tour?" He nodded before getting up. Ariel shot her so called best friend a glare, but Bri was unaffected. She just smiled and walked away with Sam. Ariel spun to get up, but Dean's voice stopped her. "You gonna ignore me forever?" Ariel sat there for a minute, then shook her head, and started to walk away from him. He waited until she was a little ways away, and then called out to her. "Didn't peg you for a chicken, Torres." She froze mid step, and a silence fell over the clubhouse. Everyone had heard the comment, and was now shamelessly listening in. Brianna and Sam walked back in at that moment, and Bri could tell by the set of her shoulders that Dean had probably just made his situation worse. She shook her head. Ariel spun back towards him, seething anger pouring from her. "What did you just say to me?" She was made angrier when she noticed he was casually leaning against the bar still. "I said, I didn't peg you for a chicken." Sam's jaw hit the floor. Dean usually wasn't like this with females. He was usually charming, and sweet, and for some reason, he seemed to be going out of his way to piss off the new patch. "I'm not a chicken, Winchester. I just feel like I deserve a little bit of respect from you. I worked my ass off to get this patch, and you come in here and treat me like some bitch off the street. I don't care how hot you think you are or how many women usually fall at your feet if you so much as grace them with a bit of attention. I am not some pushover who you can insult and then act like nothing is wrong, and expect me to be ok with it." Everyone's jaw was on the floor after that. People, but especially women, never talked to Dean like that. Since John Winchester and Clay Morrow were the founders of the club, people usually fell at his feet trying to please him. Sam was standing there actually impressed. He knew she had a spark about her; they didn't call her Sparky for nothing, but damn. She laid it on him, and judging by the way Dean had stiffened and stood up slowly, he wasn't used to it either. Ariel kept her eyes narrowed on his face, ignoring everyone around them.

"Wow. Good to know what you think of me, patch. You need to watch what you say to me, I could have you thrown out on your ass so fast, your head would spin." Dean was cut off by Ariel's laughter. "You're kidding me, right? I know how clubs work, Dean." Dean ignored the way she said his name, even though he really liked it. "You would need a majority vote to get me out. And honestly, if you have the votes, I would willingly leave. I have been here for three years now. I belong here just as much as you do. Sure, my daddy isn't a co-founder. But he is first nine, so even if you don't respect me as a patch, respect me as the daughter of a founding member, ok?" Dean's eyes had widened fractionally when she said first nine, but he wasn't backing down now. "You wanna be treated like a patched member? Act like one. Not some spoiled little princess who got her feelings hurt. I won't be apologizing to you any time soon, sweet cheeks, so deal, and move on." Ariel had stiffened at the sweet cheeks comment, and she stepped even closer to Dean. Now they were toe to toe, Ariel able to look directly into his eyes in her high heels. "Listen to me, Winchester. I have had it with you and your pompous attitude. You got a problem with me? Lay it out like a man. Otherwise, untwist your panties and get over it. Yeah, I'm the only patched female in the club. But I earned my cut, same as you. Don't believe me? Ask some of your buddies. Hell, ask your _brother_ who sponsored me! Otherwise, get over yourself. You are not god's gift. Sorry to break it to you." Everyone was completely spellbound by what was going down in the middle of the room. Dean leaned in, and since Ariel refused to pull back, his next line was delivered so close to her he could have kissed her. "You ever need help unwinding baby, you call me. I'll show you why I'm so confident you'll be just like every other female. Good to have in bed, bad for the club." There was an audible gasp at that, and without missing a beat, Ariel reared back and punched him. Eerily familiar of that morning, Ariel walked away from Dean Winchester, but this time, she left him with a black eye.


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone kinda stood there in shock for a couple minutes, and then Sam walked up to Dean, and Brianna followed Ariel down the hallway. She got to the door, and heard Ariel cursing under her breath. Bri knew her well enough to know that she would probably want to be alone right now, so she walked back out to the bar. She noticed Dean was in the corner booth with a bottle of jack in front of him. His eye was already turning blue. She turned and saw Sam at the bar, and she decided she would go talk to him, because if she tried to talk to Dean, she might blacken his other eye. "Eventful night." Sam laughed and nodded. "Eventful day. Dean came home this morning, and insulted her, and she smacked him, and now this." She chuckled. "He'll learn to not fuck with her pretty quickly. She's always been quick to throw a punch, not a slap." He nodded. "Ain't that the truth. Why aren't you keeping her company?" "She wants to be alone. Probably gonna punch her punching bag a bit. Work off some steam." Sam nodded again. "Do you box?" Brianna nodded. "We met in our boxing course at school. We both decided boxing was an important thing to know. I'm glad I took that class. She is easily one of my favorite people, and I wouldn't have met her if it weren't for it." She leaned over the bar to get the attention of the bartender, and Sam noticed Jax checking her out. He shook his head, but couldn't help looking either, which made Jax smirk at him. He flipped him off, turning back to his drink as Brianna eased back into her seat with her drink, and turned to him again.

On the other side of the bar, Dean was still smarting over the fight with Ariel. He was more annoyed with himself than anything else at the moment. He kept picturing her, standing toe to toe with him, matching him word for word. He was not used to women doing that with him. They usually went out of their way to make him happy, and he found that he liked the dynamic of having a conversation (_Argument_) with someone who wouldn't agree with him just to agree. But at the same time, she royally pissed him off. She said a lot of shit about him that he knew was true, but he had never had anyone say it so frankly, and the only people who even had the balls to say it were Sam and Jax. No one else dared to piss him off because of who his father and brother were. Sam was Vice President, after all. Ariel was in her dorm room, having changed into her workout clothes (Black mini shorts and black sports bra) and wrapped her hands, was punching away at the punching bag. She really needed to work off her anger in a productive way.

Punching Dean had felt amazing, but it wasn't a smart move. She knew no one would hold it against her, but she just didn't want the memory of it. She wasn't usually a violent person, but he just brought it out in her. It took almost nothing from him to piss her off, and the thing that annoyed her the most was the fact that Bri's words were ringing in her head from when they were sitting at the bar. "_If someone can bring out a reaction in you that you don't usually have, good or bad, that might take some looking into. You've always said you felt too calm, too reserved. Maybe this could be your chance to let loose. Don't run from it cause it scares you, Ri. Embrace it because it scares you. Fear is a good thing." _She punched the bag harder knowing that she was right. She tended to run from anything new that could provoke reactions in her that she didn't like. Dean Winchester was at the top of that list. He just made her so unbelievably mad, and she didn't like the feeling. She knew she shouldn't have let him get to her so badly, but he just wormed his way under her skin, and she didn't know how to change that.

She took a break when she realized that she was out of breath, and decided to stop before she hurt herself. She walked towards her bathroom, pulling her headphones out on the way, and then realized someone was knocking on her door. She walked to it, but hesitated with her hand on the handle. She didn't really want company, so she was unsure as to whether she should open it. She decided against it, and the person on the other side of the door got the hint and left. She got in the shower, still stewing over Dean and his attitude, but letting the hot water run over her relaxed her, and she felt her anger leave her.

Dean decided he was going to go to bed, and walked to the back of the dorm. He paused in front of Ariel's door, but decided not to try and talk to her. They would probably just end up screaming at each other, and he had enough injuries from that hellion today. So he kept walking, deciding to get in the shower. He looked at himself in the mirror, and checked out his eye. Black and blue already, which meant it would just get worse over the next two days. He wanted to be mad at her, but he knew he deserved it. That last comment to her had been uncalled for, and he was actually glad she had hit him, or he may have done something stupid, like kiss her. He didn't need to be a mind reader to know that Brianna was obviously mistaken. She didn't want anything to do with him, and he knew it was his fault. So, from now on, he would just have to give her space, and not try to interact with her.

The next morning, Ariel was the first out, wondering what had happened to Bri the night before. She felt horrible for basically abandoning her, but she knew her best friend, and she knew that she found somewhere to sleep. Sure enough, halfway through breakfast, she came strolling out in-_Sam's shirt_? She cocked an eyebrow at her, and Brianna laughed, shaking her head. "No, no. Nothing happened. I just didn't want to go all the way to my hotel last night, so Sam lent me a shirt and directed me to an empty dorm room. This actually isn't so bad." After clarifying, she noticed that Ariel was cooking, which meant she was trying to unwind. Brianna picked up the pancake mix, and started helping. "Still wound up over Dean from last night?" Ariel sighed, turning to flip the bacon. "I actually don't think so. I'm just tired of being mad. If it's not Dean, it's somebody else. I just, hate being angry, and it feels like lately, that's all I am." She finally turned to completely face her, and noticed that they were basically in the same outfit. Sam's shirt, and a pair of shorts. "I don't know, Bri Bri. I'm just, exhausted, I guess. Yesterday was a long day, and I think I just don't want to think about it anymore. I just want to move past it. Okay?" Brianna nodded, and they settled into a rhythm, cooking so much food that eventually the partygoers started wandering out. Brianna couldn't help but laugh at how Ariel mother hen-d each one of them. The hungover ones got coffee, Advil, and a heaping pile of food, which Bri had to notice, they were ALL hungover.

When Sam came out of his room, he pulled Ariel aside and they talked for a couple minutes before Ariel hugged him close. Brianna didn't understand why nothing had ever happened between those two, and she filed it away for later conversation. "If I ask for a plate of food, are you going to hit me too?" She jumped out of her skin and whirled around to face Dean. She barely held in a gasp at the sight of his face. His eye was basically swollen shut, and it was black, blue, and yellow. She sighed. "I should feel bad for you, but since it was of your own doing, I can't. There are eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, coffee and Advil if you need it. Also orange juice and milk." Dean's eyes widened when heard the spread. "Holy shit. That's more food than I've seen in a long time." Brianna smirked. "Welcome to having Ariel and I in residence. We cook. It's how we unwind." She didn't think it was possible, but his eyes got wider. "You two made all this?" Brianna nodded. She handed him a plate with some of everything at his request. Dean made his way over to the table to eat.

Ariel stood on a chair, and hit a pot with a wooden spoon, laughing at the groans that sounded through the room at the loud noise. "I'm making dinner tonight everyone, but you know the drill! Nobody gets to eat until this place is sparkling, and since we don't have any prospects to do it for us, y'all better hurry up!" Dean laughed at how the guys who were done eating jumped up to start cleaning up the remnants of the party. He couldn't help but notice that Ariel still managed to look good in a button down shirt and shorts, with messy hair and no makeup. Brianna was standing next to her best friend, and they were both laughing, with Ariel leaning on Bri so she didn't fall off the chair. Dean smiled at the picture they made, and decided at that moment that he was going to get her to forgive him, if it was the last thing he did.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam walked over to Dean with an ice pack, which he knew he needed. Dean took it with a grimace. Sam opened his mouth, but Dean cut him off. "Don't say a damn word about my eye. I know I deserved it, you don't need to point it out again." Sam chuckled. "At least you know now not to piss her off. Ariel has had to put up with a lot, and she doesn't hesitate to defend herself." Sam smirked at the look on Dean's face. "I'm serious! Her third day as a prospect, she punched Jax. Clay Morrow's son. She gave him a black eye to rival yours." Dean couldn't help laughing. "She got a hard-on for giving the sons of the founding members black eyes?" Sam laughed at that too, shrugging. The brothers sat there and watched the girls in the kitchen, dancing around and clearly singing. Dean had learned the hard way that if you tried to go in there right now, bad things would happen to you. He was still smarting where Brianna had tagged him with a potato.

In the kitchen, Ariel and Bri had One Direction's new single blasting. People had already learned not to question them. They had quite the range when it came to music. Blasting anything from Macklemore to Keith Urban, and they both knew every word to every song. Right now, Best Song Ever was as loud as they could get it. Brianna was doing her best to distract her friend. She still remembered Dean coming in to complain when the music went from his kind of music (80s Rock, mostly) to the newer pop, and she had hit him in the chest with a potato. She remembered Ariel doubling over in laughter at the shock on his face. They were having a blast, and then Ariel sat down. "I can't breathe!" She yelled in between laughs. Brianna threw her hands up, still dancing. "That's the point! Come on! Don't be boring!" Ariel just threw her dishtowel at her, and laughed when it hit her in the face. Brianna sat down next to her so they could talk without yelling over the music. "I think I like Sam." She confessed, looking at her hands. Ariel's head snapped up in shock that Bri was telling her this. "Well, I kinda figured that already, babe. You talk about him a lot. But normally you don't bother telling me these things. So why are you telling me?" Brianna looked up at her. "You and Sam are really close, and I just wanted to make sure there was nothing there. I probably won't go after Sam, but if I should choose to, I don't want to step on your toes if you already have some sort of claim on him."

Ariel shook her head, and then stopped. She wondered who else thought there was something between her and Sam. They WERE close, and she didn't want people thinking there was anything going on. "There isn't anything between us. I see Sam as a big brother, and he told me he thinks I'm like the annoying little sister he never knew he wanted. So no, there is nothing there." Brianna smiled at that. "So, are you thinking of anyone romantically, or not?" Brianna asked, nudging Ariel's shoulder with her own. A picture of green eyes flashed through Ariel's mind unbidden, and she forced it away as fast as possible before shaking her head. "Nah. I'm still settling in around here as a patch, and not a prospect anymore. And I couldn't imagine bringing someone new around this ragtag bunch of jokers." They turned off the music, and put everything away. They were basically done in the kitchen until later, when they actual cooking started.

They walked into the main part of the clubhouse, and they both stopped in shock. Brianna looked confused, while Ariel burst into laughter. Jax and Castiel were waltzing around the room, while everyone else was sitting in a circle on the floor. Ariel clapped when they were done, drawing everyone's attention to the two girls. Sam called out first. "Come join us, guys!" Brianna raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" Dean answered her. "Truth or dare, followed by never have I ever." Ariel bounced into the room, sitting in between juice and Cas, leaving the spot between Sam and Dean open for Brianna, who shot her a glare while Ariel just smiled back at her. "What are we drinking, boys?" Ariel asked to which a bottle of whiskey, a bottle of vodka, a bottle of rum and a bottle of schnapps was held up. She made grabby hands at the rum, and they handed it to her. Then everyone turned to Brianna who reached for the whiskey. Sam smirked. "My kind of girl!" Brianna just shook her head at him. They argued over who would go first, which somehow ended in Dean going first. He looked around the circle, and was tempted to ask Ariel, but decided that wasn't the best idea, and turned to Cherry. Brianna had to be told who the females in the circle were, learning that Cherry was Half-Sack's old lady, Jo was Sam and Dean's childhood friend, Anna was Happy's old lady, Meg was Castiel's old lady, Ruby was also a childhood friend, and Lisa was Cas's cousin, and apparently Dean's ex. Donna was Opie's old lady, and Tara was with Jax off and on. She was sure she would need help remembering all that later, but she had it for now.

"Cherry." Cherry groaned, acknowledging Dean with a nod. "Truth or Dare?" She shook her head at him. "Truth. Wait, if we don't want to answer the question, or do the dare, we take the shot, right?" She was met with a chorus of yeses, so she nodded again, looking at Dean. "How many blowjobs have you given?" Cherry rolled her eyes at the immature question. "I don't count them, Winchester. A lot." Dean laughed, and then Cherry looked at Happy. "Happy, truth or dare?" He looked at her for a minute, causing everyone to laugh. "Dare, baby. Lay it on me." Cherry smirked, and looked at Anna, who had her head in her hands, knowing she was about to be dragged in to this. "I dare you to give Anna a lap dance." Everyone starting hooting and cheering, and Anna was bright red by the time Happy left her alone. She threw a bottle cap at Cherry, who just laughed at her. "Brianna, truth or dare?" Bri's head snapped up when Happy pointed her out. She sat there for a minute before sighing. "Dare." Happy didn't miss a beat. "I dare you to take your shirt off and play the rest of the round in just your bra." Brianna scoffed. "Childs play." She stripped off her top, showing off her baby blue bra with winking smiley faces all over it, a direct contrast to Ariel's, which was green with the same design.

Ariel was laughing at the look on the faces of most of the boys. Especially Sam, who looked like he was about to swallow his tongue. Bri apparently thought she was laughing at her, because she picked on her next. "Alright Sparky, truth or dare?" Dean perked up while Ariel stared at her best friend. She knew that no matter what she chose, Bri would make it embarrassing, fully believing in the philosophy that the more open you were, the happier you would be. She sighed, before saying truth. "Is there anyone in this circle who you have slept with, or done anything slightly romantic with, and if yes, I want the name." Ariel groaned. The guys all started laughing, and she knew she could take her shot, but she would NEVER live it down with this group of people. "Yes, Jax." The man in question smirked, and Brianna knew she needed that story. Ariel dropped her head into the palm of her hand before deciding that turnabout was fair play. "Sam. Truth or dare?" "Aw come on! What did I do to you?!" He groaned when Ariel just stared at him. "Fine. Dare, you evil woman." Ariel smirked. "I dare you to kiss the woman you find the most attractive in this circle." Brianna felt Dean tense, and wondered what he was thinking, but before she could blink, she was yanked into the Sam's arms, and he tilted her head up before catching her mouth. Her eyes widened, and then shut as she let herself be wrapped up into the kiss. Once Sam let go, and she righted herself, she was thoroughly mad at her best friend for doing that to her.

Sam cleared his throat, ignoring the wolf whistles and cat-calls. "Dean, Truth or Dare?" Dean, who had been smirking at Sam, knew the gleam in his eye, and was honestly scared of what his baby brother would do to him. "Dare?" The way he said it sounded more like a question. Sam and everyone laughed. "I am gonna steal Ariel's dare here. Kiss the female you find the most attractive." Dean didn't hesitate before tossing back his shot, making everyone groan. "Pussy!" Juice yelled. Dean flipped him off. "Why not?" Sam asked, and Dean cleared his throat. "I don't feel like being hit for a third time today, and she's already hit me twice." Everyone's eyes flew to Ariel, who shrugged before saying "He's right. I would have hit him again." This of course made everyone start laughing again. The game went on for a little longer, with people learning things they didn't know, and doing things that were ridiculous. The group laughed when Half-Sack had to do his best impression of Jax, and he started swaggering around and hitting on Ariel, who was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. They were all fascinated when Meg was dared to make out with Ariel for a full minute by Happy. "With tongue!" Jax had yelled, prompting Ariel to flip him off, but they made out anyway, and all the guys had needed to take a shot after that. Juice had thought he was being funny by daring Bri to give Dean a lap dance, and everyone had been sure she was going to take her shot, but in the end, she did the dare, and Dean had laughed the entire time.

Ariel finally called for everyone's attention. "How about we switch to Never Have I Ever?" There was a chorus of agreement, but everyone decided to take a short break first, and they all broke to either use the bathroom, or have a cigarette. Ariel and Brianna decided that they would do the dinner the next night, since everyone was having too much fun playing the games to eat, and Ariel didn't want to mess with the buzzes around the room, including her own, so they put the meal off. Sam and Dean were outside talking about Brianna. "That kiss was pretty heated, man." Sam just shrugged, smirking. Dean didn't give up about it. "You like her, don't you?" Sam nodded. "She's fun, man. She knows how to let loose, she can drink with the best of us, and she doesn't take shit from anyone, even Ariel. And besides, she is hot as hell." Dean laughed. "Not my type." Sam looked smug. "Nah, I'm thinking redhead with a mean right hook is your type." Dean flipped him off. "Just saying, man. You go out of your way to get under her skin, and normally you don't work so hard for women. ANY woman. You can admit that you like her. We all already know. Hell, she likes you." Dean scoffed. "Yeah, I can tell by the way she blackened my eye. Totally hot for me." Dean skirted Sam's point about him liking her, and Sam got the hint, changing the subject as Chibs, Half –Sack and Juice walked up, and the conversation turned to the upcoming game. This crew loved playing Never Have I Ever. Every time they played, they learned something new about the other members. They knew the games they were playing were childish, but they all had fun, and they knew that the party would start once the females got drunk enough. Ariel, Anna, Meg, and Jo were notorious for wanting to dance and let loose when they were drunk, so they were all up for getting them as drunk as possible. They all went inside, settling in to start the next game.


	5. Chapter 5

So it turned out that pretty much all the girls wanted to dance when they had enough alcohol, except Brianna. She just laughed. Ariel was amazed at how well she had fit in to this group of people, and was more than grateful to everyone for welcoming her into their family. She had yet to meet Clay or Gemma, and Ariel was kind of worried about Gemma. She could be kind of a bitch, but Ariel was almost positive that Bri would win her over. There weren't many people who were able to resist her charm. Case in point? Happy, who almost never smiled or laughed, was sitting with her and Sam, and was laughing so hard he looked like he was having trouble breathing. Getting Happy to warm up to someone took time. But Ariel could tell he was completely comfortable with Brianna, and it was only her second day here. She wasn't jealous of her, in fact, that was one of her favorite things about that woman. Like Sam, she could make anyone feel at home, even if they completely didn't belong. She still remembered the day she met her.

"_Hello! My name is Brianna Ward! I'm assuming you're Ariel, which means you are my new roommate! What's your major?" Ariel just stared at her like she grew a second head and Bri leaned in. "Sorry, I can be a bit much. I just have a happy personality, and I love meeting new people." Ariel relaxed, and found herself laughing with the blonde. "Yes, I'm Ariel. I'm majoring in Business." Brianna made a fake snoring sound. "Boring!" Ariel just smiled at her. "Oh yeah, what is your major then, missy?" Brianna struck a pose. "Cosmetology." Ariel played along, and looked embarrassed. "Yeaa…I guess I'm just not as cool as you are." The girls stared at each other for a couple seconds before bursting into laughter. They had been best friends since. _Ariel was glad to see her past and her present mingling so well. She had hoped that Bri would fit in, but you never know. Hell, she even got along with Dean. While, in her own head, she was still trying to not take shots at him anymore, she was still frustrated, and she wouldn't be forgiving him anytime soon, especially after that comment he had made to her last night. Ariel looked around and saw Sam, Brianna, Jax and Dean talking. She slyly watched Dean as she danced with Anna, and noticed that he kept shooting her glances. She decided she wanted to dance with someone else, and skipped over to their group.

"Jackson! Come dance with me!" Jax laughed at Ariel before saying "Wow, you must be drunk if you want to dance with someone other than Sam." She thought about that statement, and then laughed. She really did only ever dance with Sam. She shrugged, and then put her hands on her waist. "Do you want to dance with me, or not? Cause I can always find someone else to dance with!" She turned away, and laughed when his hands came around her waist. "I always want to dance with you sweetheart, you never want to dance with me." She spun around and grabbed him by his cut. "Well, today's your lucky day, Teller." And then she proceeded to drag him onto the dance floor with her. Brianna had been smirking at Ariel for the entire exchange, but outright laughed when she looked at Dean. He was so jealous it was actually showing on his face. She nudged Sam, and indicated Dean. Sam laughed as well, which finally got Dean's attention and he turned to them with a frown. "What's so funny?" Brianna just shrugged, and turned to watch Ariel and Jax dancing. Sam just shot him a look, and Dean flipped him off. Ariel's back was pressed to Jax's front, and they were talking as well. The picture they made was cozy, and anyone who didn't know them would think they were dating. Jax leaned down and put his mouth to her ear, and she laughed, and Dean got up to walk away.

"So, why me?" Ariel turned to look at him, but turned away when she saw how close he was. Her senses were tingling just being this close to Jax. She had always been attracted to him, but she had been down the road before, and even though she was still attracted to him, she didn't want to go down that road. She shook her head in answer to his question. "I don't know what you are talking about." Jax scoffed before spinning her around so they were chest to chest, and pulling her in tight as they continued to dance. "Why didn't you ask Sam to dance?" She smiled at him. "Bri and Sam need to spend time together. If I could get Dean away from them too, I would. But I figured dancing with you was safer than dancing with Dean. Jax smirked, and brought his lips to her pulse point before slowly dragging them up towards her ear, chuckling at her intake of breath and shiver. "Safer how?" He asked, and Ariel forced the shiver down this time. "I would probably end up killing him. I won't kill you, mores the pity." Jax brought his head up and caught her gaze. He could see the sexual desire at war with her will in her bright brown eyes, and he flicked his gaze to her lips and back up to her eyes. He was acutely aware that at least half the room was watching him dance with the girl everyone in the club considered the "princess of the club" because she was the only girl. He couldn't even begin to tell you how many times he had been warned away from her. "You won't kill me, but you might jump my bones again." Ariel scoffed and rolled her eyes, breaking free of the trance he had seemed to put her in, and stepping back from him a bit. "I didn't jump your bones, you jumped me." Jax laughed at that.

"God, get a room already." Dean mumbled under his breath, watching the pair in the middle of the room. He was pretty sure Jax couldn't get any closer to her, unless they started having sex in the middle of the room, and judging by looks he was giving her, he wouldn't mind that too much. Dean knew what sexual attraction looked like, and she was sending all the vibes, until suddenly, Jax said something, and she stepped back from him. Dean ignored the victorious vibes coursing through him, and watched as she said something that made Jax laugh, and she started laughing too, before they walked back over to the table where they were all sitting. Brianna spoke up as they got closer. "Jesus, I thought you two were going to get a little NC-17 out there." Ariel flipped her off before kissing Jax's cheek. "Thanks for the dance, babe." Jax just nodded before walking over to talk to Juice. Sam turned to Bri and smiled. "Wanna dance?" Brianna smiled back and nodded, and they got up to walk to the dance floor. Ariel realized with a start that she was now sitting alone with Dean. She sighed internally. Great. An opportunity for him to piss her off. He didn't say anything at first; they both just watched the couples on the dance floor. Ariel was watching Sam and Bri sway to the slow song, occasionally laughing at something Sam said to her.

"So, you fucked every guy in here?" There it was. Ariel felt a white hot spurt of anger go through her at his words, but she forced it down, determined to not let him win. She shot him with a reproachful look before turning back to the dance floor, ignoring his question. "I'm just saying. Looked pretty close with the pretty boy over there. Makes a guy wonder." Ariel grit her teeth and counted to ten before she turned to him, meeting his molten green eyes. He looked pissed, but she didn't care. "Do you have some sort of problem with me? Because so far as I can figure, I haven't done anything to warrant your scathing remarks and bad attitude. I don't get you Dean. Maybe you need to get laid, because Jesus Christ your pissy, and I for one, don't have to put up with it." Dean opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off again. "Or maybe you just like being hit? Because you seem to go out of your way to make me hit you. Well, here's a little insight, Winchester. I don't like you. I don't have to talk to you except for when Clay calls church, and even then, I can act like you don't exist. So why don't you get off your high horse, remove the stick from your ass, and _grow up._" And with that statement, she got up and walked over to the bar where Chibs and Opie were talking.

Dean sat there for a minute before making a decision. He walked up to her, grabbed her arm, and started to drag her outside. Ariel waved off the guys when they got up to defend her, and let Dean drag her out. This fight had been brewing between them, and it needed to be hashed out, and honestly, she didn't want an audience either. She wasn't surprised when Dean kept walking when they got outside, until they were no longer within earshot of the clubhouse before letting her go, and spinning to face her. Ariel stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, and waited for him to say something, she could tell he wanted to, and for once, she didn't have anything she needed or wanted to say to him. _Yet. _"I don't have a problem with you, Red." Ariel's eyes widened at the nickname, but she stayed silent. "I know it seems like it, but I don't. I made a comment before I thought about it when we first met, and every time I tried to apologize to you, you were with one of the other guys, so I just never did." Ariel scoffed at that. She knew why he didn't. He didn't want the guys to tease him for being a pussy, which they would have, if they had heard him apologize to her. Dean locked eyes with her. "I should have said it sooner, but I am sorry." At that, Ariel scoffed and cut him off.

"Yeah I could tell that when every time you open your mouth to say something to me, its derogatory, rude and downright mean. Real sorry, Dean. Yeah, I can totally tell." Dean ignored the heavy sarcasm dripping off her words, and instead addressed what she said. "I'm not used to a woman having the balls to stand up to me. Normally I can charm my way out of anything, and I'm definitely not used to one swinging at me-" Ariel snorted at that statement "But you've never had a problem with any of those things, and it threw me off, that's all." Ariel just stared at him before uncrossing her arms and putting them on her hips. "Are you fucking kidding me? You didn't know how to deal with a woman telling it to you like it is, so you became derogatory? Really? That's bullshit, and I suspect you know it, Dean. I don't care what kind of excuses you have to explain your behavior to Sam, or Jax, or hell, even Brianna. But I can assure you, they won't work on me. I am immune to your charm, and I want an honest answer as to why you're so cruel to me. And don't think I haven't noticed that you're only that way to me. I've seen you interact with Cherry, and I know you and Gemma are close. Neither of those girls has a problem telling it like it is." She threw her hands up in frustration. "For fucks sake, you hang out with Brianna! She is basically me! Same height, same bra size, same shoe size same attitude, blonde hair! She has to talk to you the same way I do, yet I don't see you calling her a slut, or anything else! So, I'll ask this one time, and one time only Dean. Why are you so mean to me, and no one else?"

When he just stood there staring at her, she scoffed. "Yeah, that's what I thought." And she turned to walk away from him. "I like you." She stopped and turned towards him. "Say again?" He cleared his throat and said it louder. Ariel stared at him with wide eyes before rolling her eyes to the sky and shaking her head. "What is this? First grade? You pull my hair and push me down because you think I'm cute, but you don't want to be teased for liking a girl?" She shot him a dubious look. "Please. We're adults, and it's not like either of us are virgins. That's bullshit, and I don't want to listen to it." She spun to walk away from him again, and Dean found himself standing there wondering if he had just made it worse. Well, at least he hadn't reached over and kissed her like he wanted to. He was pretty sure she would castrate him, and he didn't want to deal with the royal bitchfit Sam would throw when he found out. He figured the least he could do was try and get her to forgive him.


	6. Chapter 6

Brianna was still on the dance floor with Sam, and he pulled her closer. "So, tell me something about you." She just looked at him, and he laughed. "Sorry, High school type question, I know." Brianna nodded, laughing. "And with how close you're holding me to you, we are definitely NOT at a high school dance." She laughed again when Sam turned a light shade of pink. Brianna steered the conversation to a safer topic. "What is with your brother? Why is he such a jackass to my sister?" Sam quirked an eyebrow at the word sister, but he assumed the two girls were so close, that's how they saw each other. Right after she asked the question, they saw Dean drag Ariel away from the bar and towards the door. They both started towards the pair, but Ariel waved a hand, showing everyone that she was fine, so they started dancing again. Sam shook his head. "I don't know Dean loses his head around her, and it's really not like him to be so crass and rude. Especially to a woman. He usually goes out of his way to charm them and try and get into their pants. But it's different with Sparky. She just gets under his skin, and I don't think he knows how to deal with it, honestly." Brianna rolled her eyes. "It's like he is twelve, and doesn't have any manners around women. Which, judging from the stories I've heard from the females around here, you and him both know how to treat a woman right." She smirked at the look on Sam's face. "Come on Sammy. It's not like you don't know women talk to each other." He shot her an exasperated look. "Of course I do, I just don't like thinking about the females comparing us in bed." "Well, everyone knows that the sweet butts are only around for when the bikers get horny, so there are bound to be some of them who've slept with more than one of you. Plus, I don't mind slumming it with them. They have all the good gossip. You know, the biker's pillow talk."

Sam thought back to the past few nights, and groaned. He knew Brianna had heard some stories about him. And most likely Dean. You weren't Vice President and Sgt. at Arms of a biker club, and single without enjoying the company of a woman or two. He knew they talked, but he couldn't believe that Brianna would try and learn what she could about them. Luckily for Sam, she took pity on him. "As I was saying about your caveman of a brother, I don't know why he treats her like dirt, but if he doesn't stop, he's gonna have to answer to me, and I swear I won't care about what anyone thinks, I WILL beat his ass for messing with her. Ariel seems tough, but she had it rough at school, and her parents aren't the best either, so no one messes with her and gets away with it. Not while I'm around." She pulled back from Sam a bit to meet his eyes. "I'm serious, Sam. He needs to back off, or make it right. This is getting ridiculous. When Ariel is holding a grudge, you know it's bad. Ariel is a live-in-the-moment, forgive and forget kind of girl, but whatever Dean said to her hit her deep. So it needs to be fixed." Sam couldn't help but be impressed and humbled by the loyalty and love shining in Brianna's blue eyes when she spoke about her best friend. He nodded when he noticed she was done talking. "Ok, I'll talk to him. I promise. Ok?" She stared in his eyes for a bit longer before nodding and laying her head back on his shoulder. Right when the song ended, Ariel walked back in looking annoyed, but not pissed off. Sam took that as progress in the Dean area. She walked up to the bar and ordered a shot of tequila. "Whoa." Sam said, putting his fingers over the glass before she could throw it back.

Ariel shot him a glare that almost made him back down, almost. But he kept his hand there, staring at her before she finally set the glass down and turned to face him fully. "What, Sam? Why are you looking at me like that?" Sam threw back her shot, ignoring her glare and cleared his throat. "You don't drink tequila unless you want to forget or get laid." Sam paused thoughtfully. "Or both. So what's up?" Ariel rolled her eyes, signaling Cherry, who was working behind the bar for another shot, and downing it before turning to Sam. "Why are you so interested? Why does everyone seem so fucking interested who I share my bed with around here?" Sam raised his hands in defeat. "Whoa, calm down Spark-plug." He said, using the nickname he gave her after he saw how at home she was under the hood of a car. "I didn't ask who you're sleeping with, I asked what's wrong. So, want to share?" Ariel shook her head, downing another shot before laying her head on the bar. "Sam, why is your brother such an asshole?" Sam sighed, signaling Cherry for a beer before sliding into the seat next to her and rubbing her back. "What did he do now?" Ariel just shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind. I just don't understand-" She cuts herself off, tossing back another shot of tequila. Sam looks at Brianna over Ariel's head, and she shrugs, clearly at a loss of what is going on. "Where did Jax go?" Ariel asked, getting up. Sam reaches out and grabs her. "Oh no you don't. I had to listen to you bitch for a week about you sleeping with him, what a mistake that was, and how you hoped you never did it again." Ariel twisted, trying to get out of his hold, but Sam had a firm grip on her. "Sam, let go!" Sam just shook his head before leaning down and tossing her over his shoulder. He looked at Brianna who looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or be shocked. "I'll be right back. Gonna put Sparky to bed." Brianna finally burst into laughter at the scandalized look on Ariel's face, and laughed harder when all the guys started cheering when they noticed Sam carrying Ariel. They disappeared down the hallway, and Brianna shook her head. Sam came walking back out, and he smiled at Brianna. She smiled back, but noticed that Jax had pulled out his phone, and was reading a text. Then, with a smile, he disappeared down the hallway. She shook her head, but decided she wasn't going to interfere. If Ariel tried to complain, she would just put her in her place, that's all.

The next morning, Ariel woke up and the first thing she registered was that it was really hot in her bed, and her pillow was harder than normal. It took a second to sink in, but when it did, she groaned internally. She cracked open her eyes and sure enough, her head was on Jax's chest. She silently cursed before easing out of bed, wrapping herself in her button down and going into the bathroom. She remembered exactly what happened the night before. From Dean being an ass, claiming to have feelings for her, and Sam throwing her over his shoulder to prevent her from sleeping with Jax. She also remembered waiting till Sam had left before pulling out her phone and texting Jax anyway. She had wanted to feel wanted, and Jax had always made her feel that way. She also knew that Jax wouldn't pressure her for more. She couldn't help wondering who would be lecturing her this time. Last time it was Gemma. She shuddered, remembering that lecture, hoping she didn't have to live through it again. She got in the shower, and then got dressed in her favorite blue jeans and neon pink tube top. She was pulling her hair into a braid when Jax walked into the bathroom in his boxers. He smirked at her, while she rolled her eyes. "Told you you'd jump my bones again." Ariel just rolled her eyes again, playfully pushing Jax. He laughed before catching her eye in the mirror. "Same deal as last time?" She nodded, thankful. They would go on like nothing happened, but they wouldn't lie if someone asked about it. Ariel called Jax her stress relief, and he laughed her off as a drunken choice. They knew it didn't cast them in the best light, but it worked for them.

Jax lightly kissed her before getting in the shower. Ariel walked into the main room of the clubhouse. Groaning when she say Gemma standing behind the bar. Just her luck. She wondered if she could turn back around before Gemma noticed her, but it was too late. "Sparky!" She put a smile on her face for the queen bee. You weren't married to the president of the charter without demanding a little respect from people. Gemma _really _wanted Ariel and Jax together, but they knew they would kill each other if they dated. "Morning Gem. How are you?" Gemma smiled. "I'm doing well, baby. You seen my son this morning?" Ariel contemplated lying, she really did. But Gemma always saw right through her, and today was no different. A knowing smile spread across her face, and she looked her up and down. "I'm just gonna assume he is showering in your bathroom before church?" Ariel hated morning church. Club business at 8am seemed so cruel. But she sighed and nodded. "Yes ma'am. He should be out soon." Gemma nodded, and went to say something else, but Jax chose that moment to show up. "Mom! What's up?" "Oh nothing, just talking to Ariel here." Ariel shot him a pleading look, and he took pity on her. "Well, take a walk with me; I wanted to talk to you about a couple things." As they were leaving, Ariel heard Gemma start in about her.

She slid into a chair at the bar, and sighed again. She reached over and grabbed her cut, sliding it on before dropping her head onto her folded arms. "Rough night?" Her head jerked right back up at the sound of Brianna's voice. She spun around, ignoring the smug look on her face. "Yup. But the good kind of rough." Ariel answered, winking at her. Brianna laughed. "I can see you're not regretting this choice." Ariel shook her head. "I needed stress release. Jax has always been good at that." Ariel knew she made a mistake as soon as she heard Bri giggle. "I bet he is." Ariel turned around, draping her arms on the bar before taking in the appearance of her best friend. Black boots with a heel, with tight blue jeans tucked in, with a blue off the shoulder top. Her hair was brushed and hanging over one shoulder, with the blue feather earrings Ariel had given her for Christmas, her friend was gorgeous. Ariel whistled. "Damn, B. Looking good." Brianna just laughed before pushing Ariel playfully. "I don't roll that way, and you know it." Ariel laughed too, and she laughed harder when Sam walked in and his eyes swept Brianna, and then his jaw hit the floor. Ariel caught his eye, and raised her eyebrow. Sam smirked, and shrugged before walking into church. Ariel looked at Bri. "I have church this morning, so I gotta go." Brianna looked confused. "Church? You aren't religious." Ariel shook her head. "Church means biker meeting. Club only. It's usually called when something has come up that needs a vote." Brianna nodded. "What do I do in the meantime?" Ariel heard Jax and Gemma walking back in, apparently still discussing her. "Hang out with Gemma." Once the introductions were made, Jax slung his arm around her shoulder, and they laughed their way into church. Ariel completely ignored Dean, and the look he gave Jax. Jax just shrugged, and looked smug while Dean looked like he wanted to hit something.


	7. Chapter 7

Bri ended up sitting at the bar with most of the girls, and they all talked about the group of people currently in church. Cherry spoke up with "Well, who else noticed Jax disappear last night?" All the girls chuckled. "Yeah. Anyone see who the lucky girl was?" Anna asked. Brianna stayed quiet. As did all the other girls. "Guess not." Gemma said, thankful that no one noticed him going into Ariel's room. Tara laughed. "It was probably Ariel's room. Those two are not shy about their..._relationship_ and how they conduct it." Bri heard the bitter note underneath the teasing tone, and Jo spoke up. "What's wrong Tara? Upset he didn't go into your room last night?" She just shot her a look. "Look, who cares who Jackson sleeps with, even if it was Ariel? I mean really. You guys are worse than anyone I know for gossip." Jo shook her head. "I just really wish Ariel and Dean would iron out whatever is between them. The tension is killing me." Brianna laughed at the dramatics, causing Jo to look up and smirk at her. "Ariel won't iron anything out with Dean if she can help it. He gets under her skin, which is not easy to do."

Brianna thought back to the night before. "They really don't seem to like each other." Jo shook her head. "I actually think it's the opposite. I think Dean _really _likes her, but for some odd reason, has his head jammed so far up his ass that he doesn't know how to approach her." Brianna laughed, as did everyone else. Meg threw back the rest of her coffee before turning to Bri. "So, what's going with you and the VP?" Brianna just looked at her while the rest of the girls' faces showed everything from shock to amusement that someone had asked. "Nothing. I like him; I think he likes me, but nothing." Lisa and Ruby just looked at her, while Cherry and Tara laughed. "What?" She asked, looking over at Jo, who seemed to be her lifeline with this crazy ass group of people. "Sam spends a lot of time with you, and he normally doesn't spend that much time with a woman who isn't Sparky. They have a really close friendship, and everyone knows it, so we never really question how much time those two spend together. Everyone knows nothing is going on with them. But lately, he spends more time with you than even her, and THAT, my gorgeous friend, is not like him." Jo kept eye contact with Brianna, and Bri decided to confide, but right as she opened her mouth, the doors of the church burst open, and Dean and Jax fell through, Dean having tackled Jax, and they were throwing punches. Ariel hopped over the table instead of going around, and even though _everyone _was yelling, her voice rang out loudest. "Jackson Teller! Dean Winchester! Can we please act our ages?!" When she didn't get a response, she walked over to the bar, nodding at the group of shocked females before reaching over and grabbing the bucket of ice water from Gemma.

Without hesitating, she strode back over the men on the floor, and threw the water on them, stunning them long enough that Chibs, Juice, and Cas grabbed Dean while Sam, Tig and Half sack grabbed Jax. Ariel threw the bucket down, and stepped between them, trying not to slip in her heeled boots in the puddle of water. "What the hell is wrong with you two? Have you lost your fucking minds?" She swung to Dean. "Who throws a punch in the middle of church?" Then she whipped to Jax, who had a smug look on his face when she started yelling at Dean. "You don't fool me either, Teller. I know you're not innocent in all this." The females were starting to understand why Ariel was appointed the position of club peace-keeper. She was in charge of keeping the guys in line, and she wielded that power with no problem right now. "If you want to act like you're in high school, fine. But take it up in the boxing ring like _every other member of this fucking club! _You DO NOT hash out your problems in church! Am I understood?" The boys just looked at her. She turned and looked at Jax, who held her gaze, and they seemed to have a whole silent conversation before he nodded and said "Sure Sparky. I'm sorry." Ariel nodded her recognition of the apology, and motioned for the guys to release him. Then she spun to Dean, stepping into his personal space, since he couldn't pull back. "You have been nothing but a thorn in my side since day one, Winchester. You have issues, and unless you get them under control, I'm going to strip you of your title and ban you from church for a while. Are we clear?" At his reluctant nod, she stepped back and the guys let go of him. She stepped right back into his space. "Handle. Your. Shit. Got it?" And with that, she stalked back into church, followed by Sam, and they shut themselves in.

All the guys knew why Dean had thrown that punch. Everyone pretty much knew that Jax had stayed in Ariel's room the night before, and Dean had been unable to deal with it. Cas and Juice pulled him aside. "Dude, you need to handle all this repressed shit about Ariel." Juice said, while Cas nodded and added "She _will _strip you of your title. She's done it before." Dean just shook his head, spun on his heel and walked out. Opie walked up to them. "What is wrong with him?" Cas, who knew him the best besides Sam, spoke up. "He isn't used to having such strong feelings for someone. He usually keeps everyone at arm's length, and I can guarantee you she snuck into both his head and his heart, and he can't get her out." Opie winced, remembering when he went through that with Donna. "Poor guy. If he doesn't handle that, it's going to fester." They all fell silent, remembering Opie's destructive streak before he finally pulled his head out of his ass and told Donna how he felt. Cas shook his head again, looking at the closed doors to church, and everyone knew that Ariel was beating herself up for being the cause of a fight between club brothers.

Sure enough, inside the room, Ariel was fighting back tears. Sam walked up behind her, and put his hand on her shoulder. "This wasn't your fault." She spun around and looked at him, and he saw the self loathing and regret in her eyes. "Yes it is. I know it, you know it. Hell, they all know it." She said, gesturing to the clubhouse. He shook his head and pulled her into a chair. "Hey, you made a choice, and it is not your fault that my brother can't handle his emotions." She scoffed, tilting back in the chair. "Jackson wasn't helping either. I know him. He had to be taunting Dean. Your brother was not happy when we walked in, and he knew that. I just hate the fact that this wouldn't have happened two months ago." He chuckled at her tone. "Welcome to the club, baby girl. Remember how we used to talk about how you used to wonder what it was like for the girls who had two guys who wanted them? Now you know." She pushed him, and he laughed again.

"It's not a bad thing, Sparkplug. You just need to figure out how to prevent it from going any further. I know you hate the feeling of all the attention being on you, so all you have to do is talk to them." She shook her head and sighed. "Jax, no problem. I can talk to him about it, and I know he'll listen to me. Your brother?" She slanted him a sideway look."Not as easy." She seemed to think for a minute before sighing again. "He's reminding me of Opie, when he was strung up on Donna, but didn't want to tell her and look like a pussy." Sam nodded. He had been wondering how long it was going to take her to figure that out. "Yeah, Dean and Opie are a lot alike. I, uh- I don't really know what you want me to say about that, though." She shook her head, dropping it onto her folded arms on the table. "Nothing, nothing at all. I don't want to hear it." Sam stood up, dropping a kiss to the back of her head. "Not wanting to hear it and needing to hear are usually synonymous." And with that parting statement, Sam opened the door and walked out.

Dean was out in the garage working on a car when Sam came walking in. "Don't start, ok? I just heard it from Cas, and Juice and Opie. I don't need to hear it from you too." Sam just leaned against the toolbox. "I wasn't gonna say anything. But since you brought it up-" Dean groaned, and Sam acted like he didn't hear it. "What did you hear from Cas and them?" Dean finished the wrenching he was working on before throwing it into the toolbox, and turning to his brother. "About how I need to figure out my head when it comes to her." Sam smiled at the fact that he didn't have to say her name; they both knew exactly which "her" was being discussed. "Would she really strip my rank?" Sam nodded. "She did it to Tig right before you came back. She's a ball buster, and she doesn't mess around. You do something wrong, you face a consequence. That's how it works in her book." Sam walked around the car while he was talking, taking it in. "1967 Chevy Impala. Damn that's a nice car." Dean nodded. "Just like dads. I just needed to work on something. I hope whoever is doing the rebuild on her doesn't mind that I'm doing some work." Sam shrugged. "That would be Ariel." Dean's jaw hit the floor. "She's rebuilding this car?" He nodded. "She loves this car, and I remember asking her why she was rebuilding a car when she's attached at the hip to her Harley, but she just shook her head. I think she just needed something to do." Dean sighed, grabbing his rag to try and clean up a bit. "I royally fucked this one up, didn't I, Sammy?" He just looked at him, and Dean nodded. "I just don't know how to make this better. She's definitely not like the women I'm used to." Sam chuckled. "Of course she's not. You couldn't charm your way out of her anger, and now you don't know what to do. Well, I'll let you think on it a bit." Sam walked towards the clubhouse, but before he left, he turned back to his brother. "One piece of advice? Don't try and bullshit her. She's a straight shooter, and trying to bullshit your way out of her anger is not the right choice. Also, punching Jax, and messing up his pretty face? Also not a good choice. She's kind of attached to him." He turned and walked out with that statement, hearing Dean throw something in the garage behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

Ariel was running laps on the football field behind the clubhouse to blow off some steam. She had her headphones in and her iPod turned up all the way. She just couldn't get her mind to shut up. The town carnival was coming up, and she knew that Gemma would expect her to help out like she always did. She also knew that because Gemma thought she was sleeping with Jax AND Dean (all thanks to Dean's little display that morning) that she would be extra cruel to her. Gemma had a mean streak a mile wide, and you did not want her to point that at you. But judging by the look she had thrown her before leaving, Ariel was on her bad side. She was so focused on Gemma and everything that had gone wrong that she didn't hear Dean come up next to her. When she finally noticed him, she jumped so bad she almost fell over. He reached out and steadied her, but she just shrugged his hands off and ripped her headphones out of her ears.

Dean was struck by how sexy she looked when she was working out. He saw the glare she was leveling at him, and he cleared his throat. "Nice rebuild you got going." Her eyes widened briefly. So briefly, that he couldn't even be sure he saw it. But she nodded. "Thanks. It's a birthday gift for someone." He just looked at her. "Look, Ariel. I just wanted to apologize. I know that you're royally pissed at me right now, and you probably won't believe it, but I am sorry. I usually have much better control over my impulses, and even though Jax probably deserved it, because let's be honest, when has he not done something to deserve a punch," the corner of her mouth twitched, but she fought down the smile. Dean was actually pretty cute when he was trying to apologize. "-wasn't my place. So, once again, I'm sorry." He turned around to walk away, but her voice ringing out stopped him. "I get it, Dean." He turned to face her, watching her roll her headphones over in her palm. "I know that you're confused about-something." He noticed her slight pause before the she said something, but he let it slide. "I don't know how to help with that, but I can tell you that you need to curb this destructive streak. I watched Opie do this, and he landed himself in jail for five years. I don't know how you need to fix this, but you can't keep going down this road." He was shocked when he saw genuine concern in her eyes. For him.

"I know we haven't exactly gotten along since you've been home, but you're still a club member. Which means you mean a lot to everyone here. You have to stop. I mean, insulting me is one thing, because I can handle it, and you've never done it during an important meeting. But punching Jax in the middle of church? I mean, you have to know that isn't healthy. We all have a certain level of respect that we need to show when we are behind those doors, and you didn't even think about that today." She sighed. "I don't want to have to strip your rank, or ban you from church. I really don't, Dean. I hate saying this, but I care about you. And I don't want to watch another person I care about self destruct. I can't." With that, she put her headphones back in, and ran off. He sat there for a few minutes taking in what she said. _I don't want to watch another person I care about self destruct. I can't. _Her voice had been so broken for that statement; it made him wonder who she was talking about. Then it hit him fully. She said she cared for him. He smiled, thinking that the day had just gotten a little brighter.

Jax walked into the clubhouse, saw Sam, and tried to walk back out, but Sam's voice calling out stopped him. "Talked to Ariel." He sighed and turned around to face his VP. "Yeah, and?" Sam stood up and walked up to him. "She doesn't want people fighting over her, Jax. She hates the attention, I know you know that." Jax rolled his eyes. "It's really not my fault that your brother had his panties in a bunch over her." Jax regretted what he said before Sam even reacted. When he did, Jax found himself slammed against a wall with a very angry Sam holding him there. "Watch what you say, Teller. He is my brother." Ax held up his hands. "I'm sorry man, really." "Sam?" Sam's head whipped around at the sound of Brianna's voice. She made a face when she saw what was going on. "Oh, sorry to interrupt, I was just checking to see if you knew where Ariel is?" Sam cleared his throat, but didn't let go of Jax. "She usually runs around the football field around this time. You can probably find her out there." Brianna walked in and placed her hand on his shoulder, and Sam finally let go of Jax. "Get out of here, before I do something I regret. Jax just nodded his head, and then left.

Once he was gone, Sam took a deep breath, and then turned to face Brianna. She had a worried look on her face, and when Sam reached for her, she let him gather her close. "Everything ok?" Sam just nodded, and when she tilted her head back to look into his eyes, he kissed her. Her eyes widened in shock, but then she melted into it. She put her arms around his neck, and his tightened around her waist. She could feel his desperation in the kiss, and she found herself trying to make him forget everything. When he tilted his head and deepened the kiss, she let him. He turned and pressed her against the wall, and his mouth moved from hers to her neck, and then he just rested his forehead on hers. She cleared her throat before chuckling. "That was…unexpected." Sam looked up and met her eyes. "Sorry." She shook her head, pressing a light kiss to his lips before answering. "Don't apologize. I wanted that as much as you. I just didn't expect it at that particular moment." He smiled at her, and when she smiled back, he kissed her again.

Ariel walked into the clubhouse after her run with the intention of getting in the shower, but when she turned the corner, she bumped into Sam and _Brianna? _Ariel burst into laughter when she realized what she had walked up on. Bri and Sam were both shades of pink, and Sam's hair was a mess. Sam had Bri pressed up on a wall. Ariel held up her hands, not even bothering to remove her headphones, and scooted past them into her dorm, shutting the door. Sam and Brianna both smiled at the loud laughter that burst out of the room. "Well, that was sufficiently awkward." Brianna said, laughing when Sam groaned. "At least it was only Ariel. We are kind of in an obvious place, and anyone could have walked up to us." Brianna nodded in agreement before gently pushing Sam away from her, then reaching up to comb his hair back into its normal state. She brushed past him, halting when he grabbed her arm as she went past. "Thank you." She shot him a confused look, and he pulled her back in, kissing her deeply. "Just, thank you." She smiled at him, cupping his face, and running her thumb along his bottom lip before she turned and went into Ariel's room. Sam went towards his dorm, needing a cold shower.

Ariel came out of the bathroom connected to her dorm, and jumped out of her skin when she noticed Bri sitting on her bed. "Jesus Christ, Brianna! Are you trying to kill me?" she softened at the dreamy look in her friend's eyes, and smiled. "Ok, Dreamy Mcdreamer, talk to me." And with that, Ariel heard every detail about what she had walked in on. She laughed and teased, and watched Brianna act like a teenager again, and it took her mind off all her problems. "I really like him, Ariel." She said with a sigh. Ariel smiled. "I can tell, Bri. So what's wrong?" Brianna nudged Ariel's shoulder in a silent acknowledgement of how well they knew each other. "I just don't want it to get complicated. He is the VP of the club. How do I know that he won't cheat, or whatever else?" Ariel looked at her friend in shock. "Ok, first, Samuel Winchester does NOT cheat. He never has. Two, I will be there with him during the club runs, and all that. He won't have the chance to cheat. Besides, I've seen that man look at you. He is totally sprung, and I've never seen Sam this bad. Ever. You have him wrapped around your finger, and you know it. I say go for it." Brianna smiled, and then nodded. She looked at Ariel and sighed. "Hate to bring all this back into focus for you, but what are you going to do about Dean?" Ariel flopped onto the bed on her back. "I think we've come to an understanding?" Brianna spun and looked at her, and Ariel told her about what happened on the football field. Brianna knew that Ariel hadn't meant to reveal so much to Dean, but she had, and now she was even more confused. The two girls sat there and talked, and before they realized it, three hours had gone past.

They all got called into the main room of the clubhouse. It wasn't church, because EVERYONE was there, including the women, and Gemma had called it. When Ariel and Brianna walked in, they walked over to the couch where Sam was sitting, and he pulled Bri onto his lap, causing everyone to shot him a look, but no one questioned it, especially after he kissed her hello. Jo shot Bri a look, and she just flipped her off, which of course made her laugh. Gemma pointed out that the carnival was coming into town, and the club responded with a good-natured groan, knowing they weren't going to have a choice but to help out. Not with Gemma at the head of the committee and married to the president of their chapter. Gemma went through every part of the carnival, and assigned duties to everyone. Ariel somehow lucked out, and got to work with Sam and Bri, but groaned silently when Dean was put with them too. They were the lifeguards at the community pool while everyone else ran the rides and stuff. They only saving grace of this carnival was after it was closed, the club got free reign over it and the rides, and it was always a blast. Sam nudged Ariel and mimed out swimming, and Ariel just chuckled, pushing him playfully, and almost unseating Brianna in the process. By the time they were released from the meeting, most of them were not happy about where they got placed for the carnival, but knew that arguing with Gemma would be pointless. Gemma pointed out that they should all get an early night as set-up started the next day.


	9. Chapter 9

Carnival day was always a big day in town, with everyone coming to help set up, and you can hear the laughter and joy from clear across town. Everyone enjoyed it, and the MC wasn't any different. As soon as you woke up in the morning, there was a buzz the infected everyone. People who weren't normally morning people were up and joking around there were people cooking breakfast, and people laughing and loud music already going at 8am. It was definitely a favorite for everyone around. Most of the club was already seated in the dining room, with Brianna sitting in between Juice and Cas, with Dean on Cas' other side. Sam and Ariel were in the kitchen joking around making coffee. Gemma and Clay were at the table talking, and Happy, Anna, Meg, Ruby, Tara, Half-sack, Cherry, Tig, Bobby, Ash and the rest scattered around the table. Sam walked out and placed a cup of coffee in front of Bri, leaning down and giving her a quick kiss before sitting next to Juice, and immediately diving into the conversation. Ariel was leaning against the door jamb, holding her coffee, watching her family and smiling. Everyone was just so happy today. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and knew who it was before she even turned around. "Morning babe." She turned and shot Jax a quick smile. "Morning." She smiled as he walked past her into the room. Dean looked up and caught her eye, smiling at her before he called out. "You gonna stand there and be creepy, or come join us?" Ariel, feeling generous because of the mood floating around stuck her tongue out at him and drank her coffee. "She always watches us when we are all gathered, it's like her thing." Clay answered. Ariel just rolled her eyes again before turning and going into the kitchen.

She loved days like today. It wasn't hot yet, but it would be later. It was gorgeous outside, and everyone was in such a good mood. She was going to get to spend the day with Sam and Bri, and she was hoping that Dean wouldn't cause any problems. He seemed to be in a good mood, so she had hope for that. She heard someone walk into the kitchen behind her, but she didn't turn, enjoying the view of the children running around outside. She knew who was standing behind her, her senses thrummed whenever he was near her. Today was going to be a long day. The four of them had sat down, and discussed who the pairs would be. The life guard station was made for two people. They had decided that Ariel and Dean would work the morning, and Sam and Bri would work the night shift. "You ready for this?" She laughed before turning around. "This will be my third time as a life guard. I'm excited." Dean nodded, completely understanding what she meant. After that, they walked back out and joined the group at the breakfast table, only Sam noticing them walking in together, shooting Dean a quick look.

Gemma stood up and dished out responsibilities, and everyone scrambled to get to work. Sam, Ariel, Dean and Brianna met up at the pool, and Bri and Ariel started talking about the suits Gemma had given them. Instead of the normal one piece, they were in bikinis. Ariel was wearing a cover-up on top of hers, whereas Bri was wearing the top with a pair of shorts. They finally went their separate ways, with Sam and Bri going out to enjoy the carnival while Ariel and Dean walked over to their perch, and Ariel groaned. "Gemma hates me." Dean shot her a confused look. "What are you talking about?" She turned to look at him. "I am deathly afraid of heights. Like, it's bad, and she knows that, but since rumors are going around about me and her son, she is making me sit on a super tall chair, in the sun." Dean tried not to laugh, but she just looked so upset, he had to. She smacked him, and climbed up the ladder and carefully settled into her seat. Dean shook his head, and climbed up behind her. They settled in for what Ariel was sure was going to be a looooooong day.

Two hours into her day, and Ariel's prediction had been correct. Dean seemed to be doing his best to not piss her off, combined with picking on her as much as he possibly could. Ariel laughed till she cried when a young teenager had taken a look at 21 year old Dean and pretended to drown. Dean didn't even give Ariel a chance to respond, diving in before anyone really knew what was going on. She watched as Dean did everything correctly, ending with mouth to mouth, and the girl wound her arms around his neck, keeping him locked in the kiss. That was when she lost it. The kids around the pool looked up to see Ariel, the girl who was always around to help with a loose shoelace, or a quick question, almost falling off her chair in laughter, and they all started laughing as well. Finally Dean wrestled out of the girl's hold, and even though he tried to lecture her, she was smiling the whole time, which led him to believe she wasn't listening to him at all. He shook his head, climbing back up to join his crazy co-worker. She was still giggling when he sat down. "You can stop anytime now." He grumbled, which sent her into another peal of laughter. Dean just sat there with his arms crossed, wondering how he got put in this position. Probably for slugging Jax. Gemma seemed to like her son's face the way it was. He shook his head when he realized that Ariel was still laughing next to him. He made a split second decision, and grabbed her, tossing her off the chair, into the pool. He started laughing when she burst out of the water, gasping for air. He knew he'd pay for that, but he also knew that because there were kids around, she wouldn't cuss him out. Yet.

Ariel surfaced in the pool, and couldn't believe that he had actually thrown her in! it was even worse when she heard the laughter of her club members. Juice, Cas, Opie, Jax, Sam and Bri were standing at the edge of the pool, and had seen her get thrown in. She swam to the side of the pool, hoisted herself out, and when she heard the wolf whistles, realized that she had lost her cover-up at some point. She turned around when she felt someone tap her hip to see Aimee, a little girl whose parents were friends with the MC, holding up her sunglasses. She smiled and crouched down, taking the glasses. "Thank you sweetie. I appreciate that." She looked down at her 200 dollar ray-bans that Bri had bought her, and noticed that one of the lenses had a crack in it. She stood back up, and walked over the fence, sliding her sunglasses to the top of her head. She looked at the group of people gathered there. "Anyone wanna say goodbye to Dean? Now would be the time." They laughed, and Jax spoke up. "Looking good in that bathing suit, Sparky." She flipped him the bird, and turned to walk back to her chair. Once she had climbed up and sat down, Dean handed her wrap back to her. "You cracked my sunglasses." She said, snatching the fabric back from him. "I did? I'm sorry." She slid him a sideways glance. "These are expensive ray-bans, Dean. Not only that, they were a gift from Brianna." She saw the regret flash through his eyes, and she didn't want to make the rest of their day awkward, so she sighed. "It's fine. Just be on guard. I'll get you back for that, Winchester." He smirked, and she slid said sunglasses onto her face.

The rest of the day went by pretty quietly, Ariel and Dean joking and laughing with each other like they were old friends, both of them happy to have the animosity between them gone. Ariel had to jump in once when little Aimee forgot her life jacket, and fell into the water. Dean watched her get the little girl and ease her fear by joking with her and putting her on her shoulders. He ignored the pang that went through him when he saw her look up and smile at him. He smiled back, and then she was up next to him on the chair again, but he was distracted, lost in his thoughts. She noticed, but decided to let it go, reaching down and picking up her book, letting him have his space. She stared at her book, but didn't really see the words. She was thinking about her day so far. Dean was actually a lot of fun to be around when he wasn't being a pain. She hadn't laughed this much with someone who wasn't Bri or Sam in a long time, but she was having a lot of fun being a lifeguard with Dean. It was almost 5, so she knew that their shift was almost up, and she saw Sam and Bri walking towards them. Dean leaned over to her. "Want to hang out with me at the carnival?" She looked over, and was caught in his eyes. She wanted to say no, she almost always went home after the carnival, but she found herself nodding. His answering smile was almost blinding, and she shook her head, turning back to her book.

"Ariel!" Bri's bubbly voice rang out when her and Sam met up with them on their way out. "I have to go change, but I'll come back by and see you." Sam lifted an eyebrow. "You're coming back out?" Ariel shrugged and nodded. "Your brother invited me out tonight." Sam gave her a look, but she avoided his eyes, instead turning to Brianna and striking up a conversation. Sam looked at Dean. "What?" He just shook his head. "Ariel _never _comes back out after her shift is done at the carnival. She always goes home and reads, or whatever. She always says she doesn't like them." Dean looked at the redhead who had her head bowed with her friend; clearly trying to make sure no one overheard them. He looked back at Sam, smirked and shrugged. "Guess she couldn't turn me down." Sam shook his head before walking over to the girls, and grabbing Bri, and they walked up to the chair. Ariel walked towards the clubhouse, and changed out of her bathing suit into a pair of green shorts, a black tube top and a pair of black sandals. She walked back out, and Juice was sitting there. "Going out?" He asked, looking at her outfit. She sighed internally; she was hoping no one would question it. "Yes, Dean invited me to hang out at the carnival with him." Juice raised an eyebrow, but didn't question her further. She shot him a grateful look, and walked out.

Dean, who was standing outside waiting, couldn't help but whistle when he saw her walk out. She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. When she walked up to him, she noticed that her heels still didn't make her as tall as he was. They walked towards the fair, and Ariel smiled at the lights and laughter. She missed carnivals, but she never let herself enjoy them, because nothing was worse than having to be at a carnival when you were all alone. They got their wristbands, and decided to ride every ride before they did anything else. The Rock-O-Planes were decided on for first place, and they got in line, talking about nothing too important until it was their turn. Half sack, who was running the ride, laughed at Ariel punching Dean when he threatened to make them ride the whole ride upside down. They got buckled in, and Ariel was the one who locked the car in place. She screamed while Dean laughed at her, and when the ride was over, they walked off to ride the next one.

Once they had ridden all the rides, they decided it was time for them to eat. They sat down, and Ariel had a corndog, and a beer, ("You _have _to have a corndog at a carnival, Dean! It's like a law!") and Dean had a bowl of chili and a beer as well. They talked a lot more, before deciding that it was getting late, and they needed to help do the roundup, since the carnival was closing for the day. Once they got everyone out, it was time for the MC to have fun, so everyone ran off, riding rides, and drinking, and just having an all around good time. Ariel and Dean met up with Brianna and Sam, and they decided to ride the Ferris Wheel. Ariel was actually freaked out, especially when Jax and Juice, who somehow ended up running the ride, made sure that the car her and Dean were in got stuck up at the top. Dean saw her tensing up from fear, and grabbed her hand. "Think about something else. Don't focus on how high we are. Look at the water, and how the moon reflects off it." Ariel cautiously opened her eyes, but she didn't look away from his face. "I'm sorry I'm such a downer. I know having a girl tense up at the top of the Ferris Wheel isn't very fun. But I'm really not that good with heights, and Jackson tends to use that against me." He shook his head. "It's not a problem, really. Just don't focus on the fear." He saw tears welling in her eyes, and she shook her head. "I can't help it. I tend to focus on it, and then I think about what would happen if I fell, and I just know-" She found her rambling cut off by Dean pressing his lips to hers. Her eyes widened in shock, but then they closed, and she melted into the kiss. Her arms slowly left the panic bar in front of them, and she wrapped them around his neck. He slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him before shifting and deepening the kiss. His tongue slid along her lower lip, silently asking her to open for him.

Ariel completely forgot about how high up they were, and focused on Dean. She was fully engrossed with the kiss, but the car jerking, and then moving again brought her back to reality. She pulled out of Dean's arms, sliding away from him. Once they got to the bottom, she hopped out of the car, punching Jax and then quickly headed towards the clubhouse. Dean sighed, knowing he had just fucked up, but not knowing how. She had responded to him, he knew he wasn't imagining her pressing closer, and wrapping her arms around him, so he needed to figure out what it was with her, and he figured that the next two days were all he had, since the carnival ended on Monday.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, Ariel talked to Brianna and Sam, convincing Brianna to switch partners with her, putting Ariel and Sam on first shift that day. Dean had been both unhappy and confused when he noticed the change, but decided to let it go until he could talk to her about it. "So, what did you do to her?" Dean sighed at Brianna's blunt question. "I don't know. Yesterday was such a good day. We didn't fight; we actually had a good time, but now? Now we're back to no eye contact, and she leaves the room if I walk in." Brianna noticed that Dean was especially upset about this, and she didn't understand either. Sam and she had walked by the pool multiple times to make sure they weren't killing each other, and every time they had, everything had been fine. They were always laughing, or talking civilly. Except for when they had walked by just in time to see Dean toss her in the pool. That time, Ariel had looked murderous, but she had noticed the current of lust in her best friends eyes.

Back at the pool, Sam was trying to be patient and let Ariel talk first, but he finally gave up. "Spill. You and my brother were fine yesterday, and now all of a sudden, you aren't talking to him? What happened?" Ariel shook her head, not wanting to talk about it, but she sighed, knowing Sam wouldn't give up until she did. "Nothing is wrong. I actually had a great time with Dean yesterday, both at work and after. But I just need to take a step back from him." Sam read the underlying message loud and clear. She was starting to like him, and she didn't want to/was scared of opening herself like that again. He slid closer to her, putting his hand on her knee. "Sparky, you can't run every time something good happens in your life. If you do, you'll spend your life running, and miserable. That's no way to live, and we all just want you happy." He hesitated, and then decided to take the leap. "Why is it so bad if you like him? Maybe something can come of it. Something good this time." Ariel visibly deflated at that, and when she turned to look at him, her eyes were shiny from the tears she was forcing back. "Sam, I can't take that risk. I've done it once, and my heart was ripped from my chest. How am I supposed to open myself like that again? How did you?" Sam shook his head, thinking about Jessica. "I saw the potential for happiness when I looked at Bri. I couldn't let my past stand in my way, when I knew she wouldn't wait forever."

They got quiet after that, with Sam thinking of Bri, and Ariel thinking about everything going on her life right now. Dean, the club, Brianna moving in with her, the fact that she had been sleeping at the clubhouse so she wouldn't have to look at the house she had shared with _him _before he had cheated on her and left her. She sighed internally when she realized she still couldn't think his name, much less say it. She was snapped back to the present when she heard her name being called. She looked over the side of the tower, and saw Gemma standing there. "Hey baby! Can you come down here for a minute?" Ariel waved, signaling she would be right down. She turned to Sam. "I'll be right back, Mama Bear demands my presence." Sam laughed at the tone of her voice. Ariel really did not like Gemma focusing on her. She climbed down and met Gemma. "I need your help to set up the clubhouse for tonight. We are going to have an old fashioned party." Ariel groaned internally. That meant karaoke and twister paired with _LOTS _of alcohol. Never ended well with this crew. Gemma liked to throw parties that normally would be thrown by high school students, but no one ever complained. Ariel agreed, and then sent Brianna a text letting her know that she had to leave lifeguard for the day, and that Sam was gonna need a partner. She sighed again, walking towards the clubhouse, waving at Sam as she left.

She was looking at her phone while she was walking to her room, and the next thing she knew, she bumped into someone, and she stiffened when she realized who it was. She steeled herself, and looked up into the green eyes that were currently amused and guarded. She cleared her throat. "Dean." She nodded, and then tried to step around him. It was that exact moment when she realized they were in the cramped hallway. There was less than an inch separating their chests. She couldn't step around him unless he let her, and she was worried he wasn't going to let her. She could tell he wanted to say something, but after a moment's hesitation, he slid past her, pressing against her before walking away. She slumped against the wall, and dropped her head into her hands. She didn't want him to hate her, they had already done that. She just needed to figure stuff out. Namely, how she felt and what she wanted to do about it. She had a feeling she knew how she felt, but she was doing everything she could to deny it. Dean was a great guy, but she had been down that road before, and she didn't want to go back there. Relationships were a sure fire way to lose yourself, and she hated feeling like that.

She needed to talk to Brianna, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't be much help. She knew that Dean and Brianna had talked about her, and Bri would not be happy to know that Ariel was pulling back. She finished the tasks Gemma had set for her, and walked into the kitchen, only to see Brianna sitting there looking like she was waiting for her. Ariel sighed internally, knowing she wasn't getting away from this. She took a deep breath before forcing a smile. "Hey Bri." Brianna's eyes just narrowed at her. She sighed again, this time out loud. "Ok, fine, let it out, I can tell you're stewing." Brianna literally exploded. "WHAT is wrong with you? I mean, I know what's usually wrong with you, but this is a new level for you!" Ariel winced, knowing that since the carnival had ended and everyone had been told there was a party, most, if not all of her club brothers were out in the bar area which was separated from them by a single wall. "Bri, I need you to lower your-" Brianna yelled over her. "No! I am so sorry if you don't want everyone listening in, but if you weren't being such a bitch, maybe you wouldn't have to worry! Dean is a good guy, and we all thought you two were at least _FRIENDS _after yesterday, but if anything, you have relapsed! I want to know why!" Ariel, who had been fighting off questions and stares all day, felt her hold on her temper snap. She knew Bri noticed, because her best friend squared her shoulders and got off the stool she had been leaning on. "What's wrong with me? You're seriously asking me that? You know Brianna, I understand that you probably had to listen to bitching all damn day, but my day hasn't been a walk in the park either! I am sorry if you are so hurt that you feel the need to vent at someone, but please use someone else for your verbal punching bag, I don't have the energy." She turned to walk away, and then spun back around to address her one last time. "Also, what happens between Dean and I is between Dean and I, and maybe you should stay out of it." Ariel was through the doorway, and saw everyone staring at her before she heard Brianna yell out again. "He's not Vince!" Ariel froze in place, and her tears came rushing back. She was exhausted, so she didn't have the strength of mind to hold them back, so everyone in the bar saw them fall. She whirled around looking at Brianna with pain in her eyes, and she saw the regret flashing through the blue ones staring back at her, but before anything else happened, she ran to her room, throwing the lock, then throwing herself on the bed, burying her head in her pillow to drown out the tears.

Back in the kitchen, Bri had her head buried in her hands, trying to stop the tears that had started falling when she had seen the stark anguish in her friends brown eyes. She couldn't believe that she had brought up Vince. Not only did she bring him up, but she did it as loud as she could, and she knew the room next to them had been full of people. She felt like such a bad friend, and she didn't know how to fix this. She felt someone encase her in a hug, and Sam's scent hit her, making her cry even harder. Sam starting making soothing noises, and eventually her tears passed. She sat there with her arms around him, head buried in his chest, and thought back to when Ariel had been with Vince.

"_Brianna!" Ariel yelled, running into their room, disturbing her studying. Brianna couldn't help but smile at her friend, especially once she saw how happy she looked. "What is up with you? You look like you just won the lottery." Ariel giggled, and fell onto her bed, sighing dreamily. "Vince." Brianna laughed, knowing that that was the guy in Ariel's history class that she had been drooling over for weeks. "What about him?" Ariel rolled over and smiled. "He asked me out today!" Brianna bounced in her seat, clapping happily for her friend. "Bout damn time he noticed you! He would be lucky to have you." Ariel smiled at her friend again. "Thanks Bri Bri. That means a lot to me." Brianna's eyes softened, and she reached over, grabbing her hand. "Anytime." _

Then she remembered that fateful last day, when she had come into the dorm to find Ariel crying.

"_What's wrong?" Brianna asked, closing the door and running over to her friend, who had tears streaming down her face. Brianna had never seen her cry and she was alarmed at the sight. Ariel rolled over on to her back, making room for Bri to lie next to her. "Vince." Brianna remembered two years before, when Ariel had said the same one word, but it had been laced full of hope and happiness. Now it was said like a curse, with pain and disappointment laced trough it. "What happened? I thought you were in love, and getting married?" Bri looked down and noticed the empty ring finger, where just yesterday had been a sparkling diamond. "He-" She heard the break in her friends voice, and reached down to clasp her hand. "I walked into our apartment, and he was in bed with" She paused, seemingly to get the tears under control. "With Dani." Brianna's jaw dropped at that name. Dani and Ariel had been friends since they were four. She didn't say anything, just gathered Ariel close and let her sob into her shoulder. Ariel and Vince had just bought that apartment, and she had been getting ready to move out of the dorms and in with him. Her heart was breaking for her best friend. Finally, she had cried herself to sleep, and Brianna heard a knock at the door. She looked at the clock, saw it was only 7, and got up to answer it. She saw Vince, and tried to shut it again, but he blocked her. "Bri, Please." Brianna pulled the door open again, pushing him away from the doorway before following him into the hall. She glared at him, and he had the decency to look ashamed. "Only friends can call me Bri, and as of four hours ago, you are no longer in that category. Go home, Vincent. She doesn't want you here." Vince stepped closer to her, but she stood her ground. She was not going to let him hurt her again. "She didn't let me explain, and that's all I want to do. It wasn't what it looked like." Brianna scoffed, and decided it was time to spell it out. "That woman in there? She is my best friend. Tells me everything. So I know that even though you apparently were using her, she did things for you that she wouldn't have normally. She was waiting till marriage for sex, but no, she gave it up to you. She doesn't throw around the word love lightly, but not only did say it to you, she agreed to marry you. Then she goes to surprise you when she knew you'd be home, and walks into the home you were supposed to share with her, only to find you fucking her childhood friend! I'm glad she threw your ring in your face, but I also wish she had done more. If you don't leave this very second, I will do it for her." He stared at her, but she didn't back down, held his gaze before stepping even closer to him. "Now." With that, he turned around and stormed out. It was only then that she noticed they had an audience in the hallway. Everyone on their floor knew and loved the two girls in 4B, so they all nodded at Brianna, and she smiled back. She turned and headed back into her dorm to comfort her friend, and try and piece her heart back together._

An hour later, Ariel heard a knock on her door, and she debated not answering it. She heard someone sigh, and immediately tensed when she recognized the sigh. "Sparky, please." Ariel's heart clenched at the pain in her friends voice, and like she always did, caved. She got up, unlocked the door and walked back to her bed. Bri opened the door slowly, walking over to her bed, and lying next to her just like they used to. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I should have known better than that, but you know me, I tend to talk first and think later. You know I would never intentionally hurt you, and I can't even think about what I would do if I hurt so badly you didn't want to see me, and I know I fucked up, and I promise to make it better you just have to-" Brianna cut herself off when she heard the laughter. "You always did ramble when you were upset." Ariel said, still laughing. Brianna let a hesitant smile spread across her face. "I know you're sorry, Bri. I know you didn't say what you did to hurt me. You were trying to get me to see reason. Sam did the same thing when I told him about Vince." Brianna turned to her side so she could pin Ariel with an incredulous look. "Yes, I told Sam. But I know that not every guy I open up to is going to be like Vince, and I just-I don't know how to not feel that pain in my chest anymore." Brianna sighed, lying back down. "Sweetie, you need to let him go." She held up her hand, knowing Ariel was going to try and protest. "I know you think you have, but the fact that the mere mention of his name has you tensing and on the verge of tears says you haven't. You are sabotaging yourself, and you can't stay in your little cocoon of denial. Dean likes you. I know that is a scary thought, but you have to look at it like this. Dean isn't Vince, and I'm not Dani. I wouldn't do that to you, and honestly? I don't think her would either. Dani was clearly a shit friend, and Vince didn't truly love you." She heard Ariel catch her breath next to her. "I know that hurts to hear, but you have to hear it. But if you close yourself off from everything that could make you happy, he's going to win. You can't let one bad seed ruin you to romance and love." Brianna leaned over, kissing her forehead before she got up and pulled Ariel to her feet. "I'm not saying jump into a relationship with Dean. I'm saying don't run from him anymore. Let whatever happens, happen." Ariel wrapped her arms around Brianna, and held on.

They pulled apart when someone cleared their throat in Ariel's doorway. They looked up to see Sam standing there. "You ok Sparkplug?" Ariel's heart caught at the concern in his eyes, and let go of Bri in favor of embracing Sam. He returned her hug just as fiercely. "I'm sorry, truly." Ariel shook her head, before saying "Don't be. Neither of you did anything wrong. You were just looking out for me, and I cant thank you enough." With that, the three of them walked back out to the clubhouse to join the group of people who were singing badly and failing at Twister. Ariel smiled at her family, especially when Bri dragged Sam over to the karaoke. She knew her life was just fine. Her eyes skimmed over the crowd, before locking onto a pair of bright green ones. She smiled at him, and he smiled back at her. She knew she would be ok.


	11. Chapter 11

She walked out to join her family, putting all thoughts of Vince behind her. Brianna was right (SHOCKER!) and she needed to let go of him and as much as it hurt to say, Dani as well. Ariel had a good life going out here with the club, and sitting at the bar watching Sam and Cas sing karaoke while Brianna did everything in her power to beat Dean and Jax at twister reaffirmed that thought. She was one of the lucky ones. Usually you end up working some boring 9 to 5 job that you hated, and you were lucky if you found ONE friend who was completely loyal to you. Ariel worked in a garage because she wanted to, not because she needed to, she also had three successful music shops, and she was surrounded by some of the best people she would ever know. Her head snapped around when she heard Brianna start laughing, and when she saw why, she couldn't help joining in. Jax and Dean were sprawled on top of each other, and they were trying frantically to untangle themselves which of course, only made it worse.

She got up and walked over to the group before laughing again. "Y'all ok over here?" At that, Brianna went off into loud laughter again, and Ariel managed to keep a straight face. Barely. Dean and Jax looked so upset about the fact that they were being laughed at, that once they finally managed to untangle themselves, they lunged for the girls, who luckily, had fast reflexes. Everyone turned and watched as Ariel and Brianna streaked past, followed closely by Jax and Dean. The girls were laughing loudly, and they guys looked like they wanted to murder someone. Ariel and Brianna split up once they were outside, with Jax chasing her, and Dean following Bri. They met back up in the clubhouse, still laughing and out of breath, and they looked around for the guys. They were nowhere to be found, and the girls took that moment to calm their breathing. Ariel squeaked when suddenly arms came around her waist, and she heard Brianna screech as the same thing happened to her. "Got you, Jesus you two are fast!" Jax says, and then all four of them are laughing. Everyone at the party was so used to the shenanigans, that they hadn't even stopped what they were doing, just moved out of the way to avoid the foursome. Jax broke away from the group to walk over to Tara, and start whispering in her ear. Dean, Bri and Ariel sat at the bar, drinking and talking when Sam walked up to Ariel. "Come sing with me." Ariel snorted, shaking her head. Brianna, who had never heard her sing, leaned forward. "Go on! Sing with him!" Ariel stared at her best friend, but she refused back down. Then Ariel looked around and her eyes collided with Dean's. She could tell he was interested, but wasn't going to say anything. She sighed, knowing she was going to sing, and hating Sam.

"Fine!" She said, throwing her arms up and rolling her eyes when Bri and Sam cheered. She walked up to the stage, and since Ash and Anna were singing, she started flipping through the book, trying to decide what to sing. Sam came up to her, and they both started joking about possible songs, and then somehow, Ariel found herself nominated to sing a duet with Sam, a duet with Bri, and a solo song. She was thoroughly pissed at her friends, but when Bri and Cherry got up to sing Girls Just Want to Have Fun, she found herself bouncing along with them, and laughing at the dramatics. She and Sam decide to sing a song from their favorite artists, so they sing Picture by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow.

Everyone watched in shock as Ariel and Sam matched pitch perfectly, and Brianna scoffed at little miss "I can't sing" who was up on the stage sounding absolutely amazing. Dean looked struck, and Brianna laughed at him. He turned to look at her, and took a deep breath. "I think I need to talk to her after this." Brianna scoffed, and shook her head. "You'd be better off to wait until tonight. She isn't drinking tonight, so you should be able to have an intelligent conversation with her." Dean nodded, and then turned back to watch the duo onstage. They finished the song, and Ariel reached over to hug Sam. Sam smiled at her before stepping down to let Brianna come stand beside her and flip through the book while Meg and Cas took the stage to sing Islands in the Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers.

Bri and Ariel decided to annoy people as much as possible, so they sang Mickey by Toni Basil. The two of them were bouncing around like total idiots, and there were several points during the song when they are laughing too hard to remember the words to the song, much less sing them. Ariel couldn't remember the last time she had that much fun, and she found herself once again thanking her lucky stars and whoever else she needed to thank for bringing this person into her life. She would be completely lost without Bri. She had used to think that Dani was her lifeline, and she would never need anyone else, but she was glad that she had decided to let the blonde in. She truly loved her, and they were practically sisters. They told people they were, giggling at the looks they got for that. Brianna was blond and blue eyed, while Ariel had striking red hair and brown eyes that she hated. Brianna always smacked her when she said that, because "You have gorgeous eyes, thank you very much." Once the song ended, the girls collapsed on the side of the stage, still laughing. Ariel laid her head on Brianna's shoulder, and then they moved so the next person could take the stage.

Then Ariel was staring at the book again, trying to get over her severe urge to bolt before she had to sing by herself. She didn't mind singing with people; that was easy, because there was less attention on her. Singing on your own was a whole different story, and she had to take multiple deep breaths to calm herself down. She really didn't want to walk up on the stage and sing. Really _really _didn't want to. She picked a song, and sat there for a couple minutes, watching everyone else sing their songs, inching closer to her singing. She blinked, and it was her turn, (Oh be quiet, that's how it felt) and she had to take a couple breaths. She walked out onstage, and everyone started wolf whistling and catcalling, reminding her that she was with family, and they wouldn't disown her or mock her-too much. She relaxed, and then the first strains of the song came filtering out of the speakers. She closed her eyes, and sang out the words. She put her heart and soul into the song, thinking more of her friendship with Brianna than anything else, but Dean kept popping into her head. No One by Alicia Keys was one of her favorite songs, and she loved singing it, usually when she was alone. She finished the song, and everyone stood up and cheered, and Brianna ran up to hug her.

After the karaoke, Ariel decided she wanted to do something she was more comfortable with, so they walked over and commandeered the pool table. It was Sam and Dean against Brianna and Ariel. Ariel leaned over to break, and Dean walked by, and pinched her ass at the exact same time she took her shot. She still managed to make the shot, and turned to face Dean with a smug look on her face. "Females are solids, boys." She announced, and then she walked up to Dean while Sam leaned in to take his shot. Ariel leaned up so she could whisper in his ear. "Be careful what you start, Winchester. You might not be able to handle the consequences." And with that, she turned and watched Brianna take her shot and sink two balls at once. Sam's jaw was on the floor, and Bri looked at him. "Hey sugar, you're in the way of my next shot." Sam scoffed and moved. From then on, the game got pretty serious. Dean had already played against the dynamic duo, but Sam hadn't. Dean kept trying to distract Ariel on her shots, and finally Ariel decided it was time to pay him back. She started bending over the table when he would line up his shot, and tease him. They turned it into who could make who mess up first, and Ariel won when she bent down to mess with her heel, and Dean saw straight down her shirt, completely missing his shot, making Ariel snap back up right with a victorious smirk on her face. Sam threw a coaster at his brother. "Pay attention!" Dean flipped Sam off, and they both watched as Brianna sunk the 8 ball effortlessly. Sam and Brianna walked over to the bar, but when Ariel went to follow them, Dean grabbed her wrist, dragging her into his dorm room before shutting the door. Ariel leaned against the wall, trying to look like she wasn't internally freaking out as to what Dean wanted. Dean sat on his bed, stripping off his cut. He was wearing a regular t shirt under the leather, but it didn't stop Ariel from picturing him shirtless. She shook her head, refusing to let this man get to her.

"What was up with the cave man act?" Dean just looked at her. "Ok Winchester. You need to start talking, or I'm going to take offense to being dragged around. Talk." He sighed. "What the hell is going on in that brain of yours?" He asked, and Ariel paused, wondering if there was an insult in that statement. She opted for confusion instead of anger. "What the hell are you talking about, Dean?" He looked at her like she had grown another head, while she looked at him the same way. "Clearly, we aren't on the same page here," Ariel snorted, and Dean continued like she hadn't said anything "and I think we should talk about it. We had a great day yesterday at the pool, and then the carnival. We were on the Ferris Wheel, and I thought everything was ok, but you freaked after I kissed you." He saw her stiffen at the mention of the kiss, and he mentally sighed. "I'm sorry if I overstepped a boundary, I didn't know. It wont happen again, don't worry." Ariel was trying to calm her brain down, and by the time she finally calmed down enough to answer him, He was walking past her. Her hand shot out and stopped him. "Dean, I don't have the best past. I like you, really I do. But I need to figure everything out. I don't want you to think I'm mad at you, I'm not. I just panicked. I haven't been kissed like that in years, and I'm not used to it. Even when I was engaged, he never kissed me like that. So, I panicked, and if anyone should be saying they are sorry, its me. And I am. Sorry." She stopped to take a breath, and watched him process everything she had just said to him. He finally smiled, and leaned forward, kissing her softly. "I can wait. Why don't you come find me when you figure it all out?" She let him walk away this time. He got the door opened, and turned to face her. "Don't think I'm going to stop trying. Fair warning." And with that, he walked out. Ariel started smiling, then laughing when she thought back over everything that had happened.

She walked out to the bar, and it looked like a normal Leviathan party. Pool being played, music blasting, the "weekend girls" hanging all over club members, people dancing, and people drinking. The most welcome sound Ariel heard was the bikes outside. Her eyes scanned the crowd, and lit up on Sam and Brianna playing pool. She shook her head, you'd think Sam would realize that Bri was a shark. She walked over to them, and sure enough, Sam was losing, and he was complaining loudly. "What the hell? I am the top player here! I can't even beat Brianna!" He laid his head on Ariel's shoulder when she walked up, but before she could say anything, she was being dragged away by Bri. "Don't even think about it, Winchester Jr.! This is my best friend, so by default, she is on my side. Ariel shrugged before laughing. Bri pulled her aside, and lowered her voice. "Saw Dean drag you to the back, everything ok?" Ariel nodded. "Yeah, we talked, and we are ok now. I'll fill you in later, when you aren't so busy." Bri smiled, and then turned just in time to see Sam sink three balls, leaving them tied. "Damn! You need to stick close to the table whenever we play, Spark Plug! Either you're good luck for me, or bad luck for Bri, and either way, the game is much fairer that way!" Ariel laughed, picking up the chalk and throwing it at him. She loved these people, and she decided that it was time to let go of her past. She wouldn't let anything get in the way of the happiness she knew she could have here. 


End file.
